Darien shrimper says new study, transparency law could save shrimp industry

DARIEN, Ga. (WTOC) — A new Georgia law is requiring restaurants to be honest about where their shrimp comes from, and local shrimpers say it’s long overdue.

Gov. Brian Kemp has signed House Bill 117, the Shrimp Transparency Act, into law. The legislation requires Georgia restaurants and food service establishments to accurately label whether their shrimp is locally sourced or imported.

It takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

SeaD Consulting’s testing

The law comes after new testing by SeaD Consulting found widespread mislabeling at Savannah-area restaurants. The company retested 22 shrimp dishes and found 13 were imported or farm-raised. Twelve of those 13 were explicitly misrepresented, meaning servers or menus told customers the shrimp was local when it was not.

That’s a slight improvement from 2025, when 77% of restaurants tested were found to be serving imported shrimp. This year, that number dropped to 59%.

“When they go to Savannah and walk down to the waterfront — as a tourist wanting to experience the Lowcountry cooking culture — local seafood has to be part of that,” said Dave Williams, founder of SeaD Consulting.

“Consumers should have the right to choose what they eat without restaurants being conservative with the truth.”

The highest-priced mislabeled dish in the study cost $38. The most expensive correctly labeled American wild-caught dish cost $32.

Local shrimpers feel relief

Zac Wood, owner of Sea Island Shrimp Co. in Darien, supplies wild-caught shrimp to roughly 90 restaurants. He says the mislabeling has suppressed dockside prices for decades.

“Everything is up. Boat repairs, nets, insurance, fuel, almost five dollars a gallon,” Wood said.

“True prices have been pretty stagnant for 20 years.”

Wood also pushed back on a common argument from restaurants that locally sourced shrimp is too difficult to obtain consistently.

“One of the arguments restaurants have is they can’t get local product, but that’s not true,” Wood said.

“We put up enough product to supply 90 restaurants year round. There are other suppliers that do the same thing.”

Despite that, Wood says mislabeling continues to undercut his business and others like it.

“They’re not showing you that it’s a four-dollar Indian import,” Wood said.

“They’re charging you $30 for that shrimp dinner because they’re selling it on the premise that it’s a local product. That’s the issue.”

According to the Southern Shrimp Alliance, 94% of shrimp consumed in the U.S. is imported. The organization estimates eliminating mislabeling could restore up to $299 million per year to the domestic shrimp industry.

HB 117 gives restaurants until Jan. 1, 2027 to update menus and supply chains.