
Louisiana’s Shrimp Shame – Disgusting Truth About to be Revealed?
Every year in August just about the time school starts in Iberia, Vermilion, Lafayette, St Martin, and Acadia Parishes they throw a party in Delcambre, Louisiana. No, it's not giddy parents glad to have their kids back in the classroom. The party is for Louisiana's "Fishing Families" our Louisiana Shrimpers. Of course, the party is the Delcambre Shrimp Festival.
If memory serves me correctly when we celebrate the Delcambre Shrimp Festival in August of 2025 it will be 73 years that those who make a tough living in the waters off of Louisiana's coast will be celebrated and blessed.
While we hope and pray for the safety and blessings of those shrimpers and all who are involved in the industry, we can't help but be disgusted and disappointed with another industry that makes a lot more money off of shrimp than the guy who risks his life to catch it does.
Louisiana Restaurants Found Selling Imported Shrimp Labeled As Local
Earlier this year we brought you a story about imported shrimp being sold and marketed as locally sourced at the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City. That's pretty sick to sell cheap shrimp, call it local, charge a higher price, and screw over our shrimpers. All at a festival that "celebrates" them.
A few weeks later, we brought you another story about another seafood festival, this time in Alabama, where vendors were caught doing the same thing. To be honest, I am still not sure if any fines, sanctions, or warnings were levied against any of the vendors at either festival for such an egregious act against not only consumers but also those who supply the shrimp, to begin with.
Now we are hearing reports that the same consulting company that exposed the two festivals we've just mentioned has done a sampling of shrimp served in restaurants in Baton Rouge. The findings by SeaD Consulting suggested that of 24 restaurants surveyed in the capital city about 30% of those were selling imported shrimp that were labeled as locally sourced.
Not only are those restaurants lying to consumers and charging more for an inferior product they are slowly putting nails in the coffin of Louisiana's $1.3 billion a year shrimp industry. So far, the names of the offenders have not been released but we really deserve to know, don't you think?
Right now Louisiana Shrimpers are hurting because of inferior imports marketed at lower prices. Some Louisiana restaurants are making money off of the "good name" of Louisiana Shrimp but selling those inferior shrimp in their dishes. If you want to kill off an industry, the Louisiana restaurant industry is well on its way.
I understand restaurants want to keep their food costs down. But lying about the ingredients you serve and selling inferior products at inflated prices is not the way to do it. Dear Louisiana Restaurant Association, if some of these places are members of your organization the ball is squarely in your court. Fix it. Here is how you contact the LRA and let them know your concerns.
There are new food labeling laws that are supposed to take effect on January 1, 2025, in Louisiana. I would ask that anyone who dines at any Louisiana restaurant that sells seafood start demanding proof of country of origin on the food that is served. It's the least we can do for the Louisiana families who built our state's shrimp industry and its reputation for quality.
And, yes, we will see you in August in Delcambre, Louisiana where we will celebrate the families that farm the sea for incomparable Louisiana Shrimp. Make sure you ask to see that label.
12 Things You Know if You're From Louisiana
Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells
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