Wilmington and Surrounding Beach Areas Shrimp Scene Tarnished

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*Other available interviews upon request: 

"It's disappointing to hear that, while North Carolina shrimpers are struggling to compete in a domestic market flooded with imported shrimp, local coastal restaurants are, not only, serving imported farm raised shrimp, but also, marketing it as a domestic wild caught product. While restaurants have a right to use imported shrimp, they do not have the right to mislead consumers who come to the coast looking for fresh local seafood. Nor do they have a right to capitalize off of the domestic fishing industry's reputation for producing a high quality, healthy, and sustainable product, while actually serving an inferior imported substitute." - Glenn Skinner, Executive Director of the North Carolina Fisheries Association

“Local shrimpers produce a sweet, nutritious, sustainable local seafood that consumers want, but cannot find. We are losing our multigenerational family businesses while consumers mistakenly think they are supporting us and buying the best shrimp available,” said Nancy Edens, a North Carolina board member of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “Government action is needed to enable consumers to make informed decisions and stop false advertising from undercutting local fishermen and honest restaurants.” - Nancy Edens, President of B.F. Millis & Sons Seafood, Sneads Ferry, North Carolina

 Jeremy Zirlott, Boat Owner and Processor, Bayou La Batre, Alabama 

Ernie Anderson, President of Organized Seafood Association of Alabama

Sources: 

Testing Report  (Wilmington, 4/8-4/11)

Seafood Labeling Laws State-by-State 

Find U.S. Wild-Caught Shrimp 

Scientists' testing detects fake shrimp labeling

Simplified Methodology of restaurant selection 

FTC Letter Warns Against Deceptive Marketing Practices in Seafood Restaurants 

https://lailluminator.com/2024/09/30/testing-finds-mostly-foreign-shrimp-at-louisiana-shrimp-petroleum-festival/

Business Insider “Why Louisiana’s $1.3 Billion Shrimp Industry Could Go Extinct 

Florida State University

Southern Shrimp Alliance

Nationalfisherman

Seafoodsource

Intrafish

NOAA Fisheries