SeaD Consulting’s latest round of genetic testing at restaurants is showing three very different pictures for Gulf and South Atlantic shrimpers, from strong compliance in Louisiana to continued transparency battles in South Carolina.
In Covington, La., SeaD’s RIGHTTest found that 21 of 24 restaurants tested were serving authentic American wild-caught shrimp, for an 87 percent success rate. Three establishments were found to be serving imported farm-raised shrimp, with varying levels of customer disclosure. SeaD noted that while the overall authenticity rate was strong, inconsistencies between menu descriptions, website claims, and verbal representation remain a concern under Louisiana’s seafood labeling laws.
The results contrast findings released the same week in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where only 25 percent- 11 of 44 restaurants tested- were serving authentic American wild-caught shrimp. The remaining 75 percent were serving imported farm-raised product, and more than half of those restaurants either verbally claimed or implied the shrimp was domestic wild-caught when genetic testing showed otherwise.
SeaD’s work in Myrtle Beach follows similar testing in Charleston, South Carolina, where a February 2026 retest showed only modest improvement from the prior year. In the latest sampling, 23 percent of the 22 restaurants retested were serving American wild-caught shrimp, while 77 percent were serving imported shrimp, suggesting they were U.S. wild-caught. The previous year’s testing had found a 91 percent inauthenticity rate in that market.
The multi-state investigation is funded by the Southern Shrimp Alliance and is designed to evaluate species substitutions and disclosure practices in restaurant seafood sales. Industry leaders say the data underscore the economic stakes for commercial shrimps along the Gulf and South Atlantic.
Advocates in South Carolina are pushing legislation requiring country-of-origin labeling on restaurant menus, similar to disclosure laws passed in several other shrimp-producing states.
SeaD maintains that its RIGHTTest program is intended as an investigatory toll to improve marketplace transparency and protect coastal fishing communities. For working shrimpers facing years of low prices and heavy import competition, the findings reinforce a familiar concern: when menus mislead, local fleets pay the price.
