Savannah-area Republican lawmaker Jesse Petrea has sponsored a bill that would require Georgia restaurants to transparently tell customers where they source their shrimp — a move aimed at bolstering Coastal Georgia’s embattled local shrimpers. According to a recent scientific study of shrimp served in Savannah restaurants, the truth in advertising may be long overdue.
Only 10 of 47 samples from shrimp dishes served at 44 Savannah restaurants were American species, while the rest were shrimp imported from other countries, according to Prashant Singh, the chief scientific officer for SeaD Consulting, a firm hired by the Southern Shrimp Alliance to conduct DNA tests of the crustaceans. That’s despite menus or other advertising implying that the restaurants served locally sourced shrimp, the consulting firm said.
Americans eat more shrimp than any other seafood — yet for decades, the shrimping communities in Georgia and across the South, from the Atlantic to the Gulf Coast, have faced choppy financial seas as they have lost market share to low-cost, imported shrimp from countries like Ecuador, India, and Indonesia. The National Fisheries Institute said that of the 921,000 tons of shrimp sold in the U.S. market in 2022, only 1,018 tons came from Coastal Georgia.
The results of the SeaD scientific testing confirm what local shrimpers and industry advocates have been saying for years. Many restaurants aren’t serving Coastal Georgia shrimp, but local diners as well as tourists think they are.
“I have spent many years distinguishing wild Georgia shrimp from farm-raised imports, working with our tourism boards to promote Georgia’s premium seafood and rich culture. Yet, none of that work is worth anything if restaurants mislead consumers through false advertising,” said John Wallace, owner of Anchor Shrimp Co. in Brunswick.
SeaD randomly chose restaurants on Tybee Island, Savannah and Port Wentworth that had names implying a focus on seafood, rather than restaurants from across Savannah’s wide-ranging dining scene. A consultant then went to 44 restaurants and ordered a shrimp dish, saving samples that were then delivered to Singh. The scientist conducted a blind test, with samples labeled by number, rather than any other identifying mark, using a rapid DNA test that SeaD has developed in partnership with Florida State University.
The samples were collected over a five-day period from Feb. 18-23, which is after the Georgia shrimping season had ended. However, the majority of shrimp sold to restaurants comes frozen, and Anchor Shrimp, which is one of the largest fresh shrimp distributors in the area, says there is a plentiful supply of shrimp caught in Georgia waters.
SeaD said it was not going to release the list of Savannah-area restaurants that flunked the test of locally sourced shrimp — but they did release a list of restaurants with menu offerings that passed the test.
The list — which is not comprehensive to all of Savannah’s restaurants — includes:
- Belford’s Seafood and Steaks, 315 W. St. Julian St., Savannah
- Boar’s Head Grill & Tavern, 1 N. Lincoln St., Savannah
- Coastal 15, 102 W Bay St, Savannah
- Fiddler’s Crab House & Oyster Bar, 131 W. River St., Savannah
- Love’s Seafood & Steak, 6817 Chief O.F. Love Road, Savannah
- The Olde Pink House, 23 Abercorn St.
- Pier 16, 1601 Inlet Ave, Tybee Island
- Rhett, 412 Williamson St., Savannah
- Sea Wolf, 106 S Campbell Ave, Tybee Island
- Wood’s Seafood, 711 GA-30, Port Wentworth
Rep. Petrea’s bill has passed the state House and has been assigned to the Interstate Cooperation Committee in the state Senate. It must pass a full Senate vote before it can be passed into law.
