Southern Shrimp Alliance study reveals a majority of Charleston-area restaurants serve imported shrimp

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WBCD) – The Southern Shrimp Alliance revealed, in a new study with SeaD Consulting, a majority of Charleston-area restaurants that claim to serve local shrimp are not actually doing so.

SeaD Consulting randomly selected 44 restaurants throughout the region, in an attempt to bring transparency and awareness to the Lowcountry.

Each of the restaurants selected advertise selling local shrimp. Charleston was the last and eighth stop for this study.

The four identified restaurants that do serve domestically caught shrimp include Coosaw Creek Crab Shack, Grace & Grit, Rappahannock Oyster Bar, and Acme Lowcountry Kitchen.

“70% of all the seafood eaten in the U.S. is done so at the restaurant level. Any deception done at this level is a detriment to not only our fishing community but also consumers coming down to the coast and wanting to enjoy fresh, local seafood,” Erin Williams, COO and co-founder of SeaD Consulting, said. “Not only that, your restaurants are honestly sourcing to consumers who are paying that premium to get that quality seafood when competitors in their marketplace are not doing that.”

The consulting firm discreetly tested these restaurants by order a shrimp dish, and bring some of it back to their lab.

The researchers take a piece of tissue and run it through the RIGHTTest (Rapid ID Genetic High-Accuracy Test) which takes approximately two hours. The results show the species type.

The other 40 restaurants are accused of shipping their supply in, which can be cheaper than harvesting local shrimp. However, officials said this deception is harmful to consumers and the local community.

“It’s really important to be upfront with your customers especially – it’s not cheap to eat out. You have your locals who come to your restaurant and you have all the tourists coming here, and they’re assuming that what they’re eating is a locally caught product. Not something that’s caught thousands of miles away that’s farm-raised, it’s awful,” Bobby Simons, owner of Acme, said.

Simons works with local shrimpers in McClellanville and tells News 2 he maintains a long-term working relationship with them.

Similarly, Rocky Magwood, president of the South Carolina Shrimpers Association, works with several other local restaurants. He said though the association did not request this study, Magwood hopes this now encourages more places to buy local.

“It’s crazy to how this turned out to people are getting mad because they say ‘oh they tested my restaurant’, well if you’re mad it’s because you’re not doing the right thing. Just understand, we’re here to help you,” Magwood said. “We’re not even mad at the restaurants that wasn’t selling fresh shrimp. Just call us and talk to us. We’ll see what we can do to match your price and get to where we can get your business. We’re just working people, we want to all work together.”

The shrimpers association has a list of local restaurants that do sell local shrimp. Magwood said the consumer should also ask the restaurant if they do serve authentic shrimp.