Restaurants caught serving imported shrimp, misleading consumers
By Grace Rodriguez
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SAVANNAH, Georgia (WJCL) — A new study found many Savannah-area restaurants continue to serve imported shrimp while marketing it as local.
SeaD Consulting sampled shrimp dishes from 22 Savannah-area restaurants this spring and found only nine contained American wild-caught shrimp. The other 13 dishes, or 59%, tested as imported farm-raised shrimp.
Last year, the agency found that 77% of dishes sampled tested as imported farm-raised shrimp.
Some shrimpers in the Lowcountry say the findings hurt local businesses.
“The people come to the coast to enjoy local cuisine and local seafood, and they’re not getting it. And that is the real problem,” John Wallace, owner of Anchored Shrimp Co. said. “The higher-end restaurants are still using the cheaper imports and claiming they are using domestic product. I’ve actually seen a picture of my shrimp boat in the restaurant using imported shrimp. And that gets very frustrating.”
The testing process includes visiting restaurants in Savannah that serve seafood, however, it is not exclusive to seafood restaurants. Researchers document items such as menus and decorations, as well as if whether the shrimp is advertised as local either on the menu or verbally. Samples are then collected and tested by a second set of researchers to avoid possible bias.
“What we do is we look for the Vannamei shrimp, which is only a Pacific white shrimp, and it is only either farm-raised or from the Pacific,” Dave Williams, founder of SeaD Consulting, said. “If you’re in Savannah and you’re on the waterfront, the implication is you should be serving American wild-caught shrimp.”
Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed House Bill 117, which requires restaurants to disclose whether their shrimp is imported. The law takes effect Jan. 1.
SeaD Consulting released a list of Savannah-area restaurants that serve American wild-caught shrimp. They did not disclose which restaurants were found to serve imported farm-raised shrimp.
The nine restaurants found to be serving American wild-caught shrimp dishes (9/22 = 41%), according to SeaD Consulting’s 2026 Savannah retest were:
Boar’s Head Grill & Tavern, 1 Lincoln St, Savannah, GA 31401 Coastal 15, 102 W Bay St, Savannah, GA 31401 Fiddler’s Crab House and Oyster Bar, 131 W River St, Savannah, GA 31401 Huey’s on the River, 115 E River St, Savannah, GA 31401 Jackie’s Seafood Market, 1117 E Montgomery Cross Rd. Savannah, GA, 31406 Rhett, 412 Williamson St, Savannah, GA 31401 Sea Wolf, 106 S Campbell Ave, Tybee Island, GA 31328 Sting Ray’s Seafood, 1403 Butler Ave, Tybee Island, GA 31328 The Olde Pink House, 23 Abercorn St, Savannah, GA 31401
SeaD Consulting says six of these nine restaurants served American wild-caught shrimp during both 2025 and 2026 testing periods:
Boar’s Head Grill and Tavern Coastal 15 Fiddler’s Crab House and Oyster Bar Rhett Sea Wolf The Olde Pink House
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