Local shrimpers call for transparency from Lowcountry restaurants with potential labeling law

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – Local shrimpers are calling for more transparency from Lowcountry restaurants, after a recent study claimed several are deceiving their customers.

The Southern Shrimp Alliance and SeaD Consulting conducted a survey of 44 randomly selected restaurants that said they serve locally-sourced shrimp.

Each restaurant was tested and only four met the criteria for the study. Local shrimpers said this deception is unfair to their community and consumers.

“I think that’s harmful to the community. I think it’s harmful to the shrimpers that are really working hard to provide a great product,” Cynthia Tarvin, owner of Tarvin Seafood, said.

“Well, my thing is if you want to sell a product make sure you’re saying what you’re selling, and if you want to sell imports. Just say you’re selling imports. That’s the problem that we’re having, that’s what the testing proves. People are saying one thing and it’s actually something else,” Rocky Magwood, president of the South Carolina Shrimpers Association, said. “We’ve been battling this for a long time, this is just proof that we’re getting misled and that’s why the shrimping industry is where it’s at.”

Currently, South Carolina does not having any laws or pending legislation about labeling shrimp.

The fishing community tells News 2, it is an unethical practice for restaurants to falsely advertise selling local wild-caught shrimp. These study results are spurring the fight to get regulations that some Gulf Coast and South Atlantic states already have.

“The proof is we’re trying to get a labeling law because if you go to a grocery store it’s labeled. A lot of seafood is that way. We want it in a restaurant to be that way because if you sit down at a restaurant there should be a thing on the menu that says where it comes from if it’s wild-caught,” said Magwood.

“I think that if there was a truth in labeling, it would be helpful. That’s done with oysters. They identify the oysters that they are selling come from. It wouldn’t be impossible to do that with shrimp,” Tarvin said.

Magwood said he hopes restaurants will be held accountable to tell their customers where they get their products from and punish those who are not.

“I think this is a big way to restaurants that use our boats or use seafood and think they can use our name. It’s been a long time coming, I think there’s going to be a lot more of this to come and this is just a little tip of the iceberg, but we’re going to work very hard to promote the businesses that do support us, and the ones that are not telling the truth – look out we’re coming,” Magwood said.

The South Carolina Shrimpers Association has a running list of restaurants that do serve locally-sourced shrimp.