Shrimpers call for transparency on menus across the Lowcountry

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – South Carolina shrimpers are speaking out, calling on restaurants across the Lowcountry to stop falsely advertising imported shrimp as local. They are backing that message with legal action.

At a press conference Friday at Shem Creek, the South Carolina Shrimpers Association, joined by their attorney and several local restaurant partners, announced they have filed a federal lawsuit aimed at holding violators accountable and protecting the integrity of the state’s seafood industry.

“Our issue isn’t with restaurants that are serving imported shrimp,” said Bryan Jones, Vice President of the SC Shrimpers Association. “It’s with restaurants that are selling imported shrimp and then saying it’s the stuff we spend our blood, sweat and tears trying to harvest and bring from trawl to table.”

The complaint, filed in Charleston’s federal court, lists 40 unnamed restaurants and seeks an injunction to prevent them from marketing foreign shrimp as locally caught.

Jones said the impact of mislabeling isn’t just economic, it threatens the sustainability of a centuries-old way of life, deceives diners and raises serious concerns about food safety and sourcing.

“It certainly hurts to know the work we’re putting in is being undercut,” he said. “They’re making a profit at our expense.”

Shrimpers noted that much of the imported shrimp served in the U.S. is farmed in countries with limited oversight, where labor abuses and banned chemical use have been documented.

“A lot of shrimp farms and processing facilities use suspect labor practices,” Jones said. “We believe in clean coastal estuaries; what’s good for the ducks is good for the shrimp.”

For shrimpers like Rocky Magwood, President of the South Carolina Shrimpers Association, the press conference and legal filing mark the latest step in a fight that’s spanned decades.

“I’ve been fighting almost all my life to prove a point that I know this has been happening a long time, over 25 years,” he said. “If you eat at a restaurant, you should know where your food comes from” .

Magwood said recent third-party testing helped confirm what many shrimpers have long suspected that some restaurants are misleading customers about where their seafood comes from.

“I never thought that it would be this bad,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming, but it was nice to be able to finally get some kind of testing. And now here we are. And we’re going to follow up behind it and run with it” .

The lawsuit filed Friday seeks more than just an injunction, it also asks for financial penalties and the return of profits allegedly earned through misrepresentation. 

The association’s attorney, Gedney Howe, said both state and federal laws already prohibit falsely labeling the origin of food.

“It is just illegal at a state and federal level,” Howe said. “It’s got to come to a stop” .

Shrimpers say this lawsuit is one step toward broader reform. They’re calling on lawmakers to pass a “country-of-origin labeling” law in South Carolina that would require restaurants to clearly disclose where their shrimp comes from, similar to laws already in place in Louisiana and Texas.

“This isn’t about being vindictive,” said Jones. “What we’re trying to do is fight for what’s right, for fairness, for honesty” .

Until then, shrimpers encourage diners to ask questions, support restaurants doing things the right way and seek out local, wild-caught seafood whenever possible.