National Shrimp Festival vendors accused of using imported seafood: ‘slap in the face’

A consulting firm says it discovered vendors passing off imported shrimp as Gulf seafood during the recent National Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores. Festival organizers cried foul, saying they were being “targeted” by a company that won’t identify vendors who allegedly violated its longstanding policies.

The ruckus starts with a company called SeaD Consulting, which made headlines in September when it said it had seen widespread use of imported shrimp at the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival. SeaD founder Dave Wiliams says the company’s tests can identify shrimp species in two hours, faster than older tests, ensuring “that fraudulent practices are detected in real time.”

After the Louisiana event, SeaD tested shrimp from several vendors at the annual National Shrimp Festival, held Oct. 10-13 in Gulf Shores. After the event concluded, SeaD said it tested five dishes and only one, served by Rouses Grocery Store, contained authentic wild-caught shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico. The others, he said, used imported, farm-raised shrimp.

The company’s statement also contained a strong reaction from Bayou La Batre, quoting Mayor Henry D. Barnes who said the findings were a “slap in the face” to local shrimpers hit hard by the use of imported shrimp . And he quotes boat owner and processor Jeremy Zirlott who speculates that Shrimp Fest’s contract clause imposing an initial $500 fine on vendors who misrepresented their shrimp was something they just added after the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival incident.

Shrimp Fest organizers say the latter accusation is false. “We have had our national provision in our vendor contracts for years,” festival co-chair Ginny Barnas said in a response released Tuesday by the festival. “There are monetary penalties for violating the contract, and repeat violators may be expelled from the Festival.”

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In the SeaD report, Williams says perhaps the National Shrimp Festival should be called the International Shrimp Festival. Despite these attacks, he was widely quoted as saying that “what we are trying to do is positive.”

However, festival officials said Williams put them in a no-win situation by failing to identify the supposed bad actors.

“If they refuse to disclose to us the names of the alleged violators, there is little we can do to ensure that these vendors are penalized or asked not to return to our festival,” said Ryan Moberly, director of communications for the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber.

SeaD’s position appears to be that it is up to events such as the Shrimp Festival to enforce the use of domestic shrimp via a testing regime like the one it is selling: “One of the key points to remember is that “Despite a $500 fine for selling imported farmed shrimp, enforcement at the Gulf Shores National Shrimp Festival appears to be lacking,” SeaD’s statement said. “This allowed many vendors to offer foreign shrimp, undermining the festival’s commitment to local seafood and raising concerns about transparency. …Effective monitoring and enforcement of regulations and supplier agreements are essential to maintaining the integrity of these festivals and the entire seafood supply chain.”

“SEAD’s technology has already been instrumental in changing the industry,” the company’s report said. “Williams hopes testing will become standard practice to ensure consumers get what they pay for – and to protect the livelihoods of Gulf fishermen.

Most Shrimp Festival foods are sold by independent street vendors. Festival organizers fear that daily testing of more than two dozen vendors could add up to thousands of dollars in expenses for the volunteer-run event.

In the festival’s release, Barnas said she invites Williams and SeaD to come back next year and participate.

“We are a volunteer-run event,” she said. “We have nearly 100 volunteers who work year-round on this festival to make it one of the best festivals in the world, and hundreds more give their time during the event weekend. If Mr. Williams would like to come here and volunteer his services and tests for four days, we will welcome him.

Williams said his goal was to defend the lifestyle and livelihood of Gulf fishermen. He also said he would likely test some Alabama restaurants — although, as before, he would be more likely to identify those that succeed than those that fail.

“As more festivals and restaurants come under scrutiny, those who do the right thing will be publicly recognized, while cheaters risk being exposed and potentially fined,” he said. he declared in the company report.