A joint WVUE-TV Fox and Louisiana Illuminator investigation into shrimp sold at festival and market vendors in the New Orleans area found most of the samples to be domestic.
The results could indicate retailers and event organizers are becoming more careful about how they label and present their dishes.
The samples of shrimp were collected from nine vendors at an area seafood market in early November and from five vendors Oct. 6 at the Gretna Heritage Festival. Only one of the samples, which came from a non-restaurant vendor at the Gretna Fest, tested positive as foreign. All nine samples from the seafood market were from the Gulf of Mexico, the analysis found.
The testing was performed by SeaD Consulting, a food safety technology company that recently developed a rapid seafood species identification test. Dave Williams, a Houston resident, developed the process in collaboration with Florida State University microbiologist Prashant Singh.
Advertisement
“I grew up in the fishing communities,” Williams said. “It’s important to me.”
Their technology examines tissue for specific DNA markers unique to a species of Asian shrimp commonly raised in aquaculture farms.
The Illuminator and WVUE-TV Fox 8 independently collected the shrimp samples and shipped them to Singh’s laboratory at Florida State, following an industry standard chain-of-custody protocol.
Last month, SeaD Consulting used its own team to collect seven samples from the inaugural Louisiana Shrimp Festival in New Orleans. Testing from that event showed all seven samples were domestic, though that was expected considering the event served as a fundraiser for local shrimpers.
Those results are a far cry from those seen at the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival in Morgan City, where four out of five vendors evaluated during the Labor Day weekend event were serving shrimp that tested positive for foreign genetic markers.
Advertisement
A similar story unfolded a few weeks later at the National Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on Oct. 12. Testing by SeaD Consulting at that event revealed four out of five samples were farm-raised imports.
A row of food vendors at the 2024 Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival in Morgan City, La. (Photo courtesy of Erin Williams/Sea D Consulting)
News of the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival results sparked immediate outrage from consumers and public officials who have been trying for years to address the ongoing problem of imported seafood. State Rep. Jessica Domangue, R-Houma, publicly excoriated Shrimp & Petroleum Festival organizers for allowing its vendors to undermine Louisiana’s unique culture and “openly violate Louisiana law” for years.
Williams said he believes word of his testing has gotten out to festival and market organizers, prompting them to consider stricter rules for food vendors. He has now turned his attention to the restaurant industry, which he said has been more resistant to change.
“We don’t want to stop people promoting their product in a manner that helps them sell it,” Williams said. “So if they’re going to put boats on the wall, if they’re going to have nets, if they’re going to imply that they’re local, then, for God’s sake, serve local product.”
State laws require restaurants and anyone else selling seafood in Louisiana to label it as such, but the state never adequately funded enforcement of the laws. Ambiguity in state law prevented health inspectors from levying fines even after recording more than 2,600 violations since 2019. Lawmakers rectified that issue with legislation passed in May, calling for stricter enforcement.
Advertisement
Laws at the federal level have seen a recent step-up in enforcement.
Last summer, U.S. Food & Drug Administration agents arrested the owners of an iconic Mississippi Gulf Coast restaurant and their seafood wholesalers on charges related to a decades-long fish substitution scheme. The individuals pleaded guilty to felonies ranging from wire fraud to mislabeling seafood.
In the wake of that case, the Federal Trade Commission adopted new guidance in October to clarify that restaurant decor, imagery, menu descriptions and slogans that suggest their seafood is local could be illegal if the restaurant is not actually serving domestic catch, according to Reuters.
A batch of wild caught Gulf of Mexico shrimp sits on a sorting table on shrimper Keo Nguyen’s boat at a dock east of Lake Borgne prior to bringing it to a seafood market Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)
According to some estimates, upwards of 80% to 90% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. The foreign seafood industry has a number of problems. Some seafood companies have been caught using slave labor for commercial fishing and processing, and testing of imported seafood in Louisiana revealed the presence of banned veterinary chemicals that are potentially harmful to humans.
Louisiana shrimper and seafood retailer David Chauvin said the influx of cheap imported shrimp has decimated the domestic industry.
“For us to compete with imported shrimp, we can’t,” he said. “If we keep going down this road, we’ll be out of business.”
Advertisement
Chauvin said he believes regular genetic testing at restaurants and festivals could make a big difference for the industry. He and other shrimpers have been asking for tighter regulations for years, but he said there are many big businesses making a lot of money from the status quo. The state should at least require all state institutions, such as schools and prisons, to prohibit serving imported shrimp, he said.
Chauvin’s idea was actually included in legislation Louisiana approved in May that will take effect Jan. 1. The new law will require all local school districts, state agencies and state institutions that serve seafood to use only domestic shrimp and crawfish. It will also set much stricter country-of-origin laws for restaurants, prohibitions against vague menu descriptions, clear enforcement authorizations for state agencies and much higher fines for labeling violations by retailers and wholesalers.
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana passed a state law allowing state park rangers to enforce state litter laws anywhere in Louisiana.
The increased enforcement comes alongside revamped reinforcement efforts with a hotline. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will field hotline calls and pass information to state park rangers, who if given proper information, can issue a citation.
Simple littering, such as trash flying out the back of a pickup truck, carries up to $175 in fines plus court costs. Intentional littering, such as deliberately throwing trash out of a window onto a roadway, brings up to a $250 fine. Gross littering, such as depositing large amounts of trash into a ditch or having an illegal dumpsite, carries $500 to $1,000 in fines.
Officials say crimes such as dumping violations have more in-depth processes; anyone interested can find more information at the Keep Louisiana Beautiful website.
This Week in Southeastern Athletics – September 15-21, 2025 Monday, September 15
Golf | at Grover Page Classic | Memphis, Tenn. | 8:15 a.m. Football | Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo | Brady’s | 7 p.m. | Kajun 107.1 FM | The Highway 104.7 FM | The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM – Community Spotlight Guest: Scott Henderson, The Salad Station/Tommy’s on Thomas
Tuesday, September 16
Golf | at Grover Page Classic | Memphis, Tenn. | 8:15 a.m.
Thursday, September 18
Volleyball | at Texas A&M (Texas A&M Invitational) | College Station, Texas | 6 p.m.
Friday, September 19
Volleyball | vs. LMU (Texas A&M Invitational) | College Station, Texas | 3 p.m.
Saturday, September 20
Football | at LSU | Baton Rouge | SEC Network | SEC Network | Kajun 107.1 FM | The Highway 104.7 FM | The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM
Volleyball | vs. New Hampshire (Texas A&M Invitational) | College Station, Texas | Noon
Sunday, September 21
Soccer | at UTRGV | Edinburg, Texas | 1 p.m. | ESPN+*
Southeastern home events in bold | All times Central | * – Southland Conference event
HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football and two-time defending Southland Conference champion volleyball team hit the road for nonconference play, the SLU soccer team opens Southland Conference play, the Lion men’s golf team opens the fall portion of its 2025-26 schedule and Southeastern Athletics will compete in the university’s Giving Day during this week in Southeastern Athletics.
The SLU football team (2-1) will close out nonconference play at No. 3 LSU. Saturday’s game will kickoff at 6:45 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.
The Southeastern volleyball team (5-3) will close out an eight-match road swing this week, heading to College Station, Texas to compete in the Texas A&M Invitational. The Lady Lions will face host Texas A&M Thursday at 6 p.m., Loyola Marymount Friday at 3 p.m. and New Hampshire Saturday at noon during the tournament.
The SLU women’s soccer team (1-4-2) will open league play on the road this week. Southeastern will face new league member UTRGV Sunday at 1 p.m. in Edinburg, Texas.
The Lion golf team opens the 2025-26 season this week. Southeastern will head to Memphis, Tenn. to compete in the Grover Page Classic Monday and Tuesday.
Southeastern Giving Day is set for Wednesday and is an opportunity to give back to the university, including Southeastern Athletics. Visit www.southeasterngivingday.org for more information.
On the Air
This week’s football game will be televised on SEC Network, while Thursday’s volleyball match will air on SEC Network+. Sunday’s soccer match can be seen on ESPN+.
The 2025 season of Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo will continue Monday at 7 p.m. at Brady’s in downtown Hammond. Scelfo and host Allen Waddell will discuss all things Lion football on the hour-long show weekly during the season, which airs on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).
Scott Henderson of The Salad Station and Tommy’s on Thomas will be Monday’s Community Spotlight Guest.
The same Southeastern Sports Radio Network stations will broadcast Saturday’s football game.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Athletics, follow @LionUpAthletics on X and Instagram or like /LionUpAthletics on Facebook.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.
OXFORD, Miss. – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball team had the momentum in its favor each of the first two sets before Ole Miss battled back and went on to post a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) on Friday, September 12 at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center in Oxford, Mississippi.
The Rebels (4-3) leaned upon 16 kills each time to overcome the pressure from the Ragin’ Cajuns (6-2) and open a 2-0 match lead. Then in Set 3, Ole Miss hit .400 and sided out at 80 percent to end the contest early.
Louisiana put itself in position to be the ones ahead 2-0 in the match, tied 13-13 midway through Set 1 and laying hold to a 17-13 advantage late in Set 2. Ultimately the offensive edge for Ole Miss, which held a 45-29 edge in kills and .391 to .176 advantage in hitting percentage for the match, paid dividends.
Both sides had balanced scoring, the Ragin’ Cajuns led by nine kills from Cailin Demps and seven kills from Grace Sweeney. The Rebels, though, were able to have four players score more than five kills led by the trio of Shayla Meyer (10), Melia Johnson (9) and Gabi Placide (9) each reaching nine scores.
Advertisement
The loss snapped Louisiana’s three-match win streak, the squad ending a five-match road swing with a 3-2 mark.
Ole Miss claimed victory in its 2025 season home opener and remained unbeaten in the 2000s against UL.
Jazmine Gaston scored a kill on each of her first two swings in Set 1 as the Cajuns remained ahead early 9-7 after taking the lead at 4-3 on a Kennedy Gustafson ace.
The teams were near even with five kills apiece and both hitting .300-plus through the 13-all tie. Meyer helped the Rebels make the decisive move, scoring the tiebreaking kill and serving up an ace to gain separation for good.
Sweeney asserted herself at the onset of Set 2, scoring two aces and a kill in a personal 3-0 run that pulled Louisiana ahead 4-1, then preserved the lead with yet another early kill to make it 9-7.
Advertisement
Later on, Sweeney teamed up with Harley Krause on back-to-back winners as the Cajuns stretched the lead out to 17-13. The Rebels, though, reversed course as a kill, ace and block all in succession ignited a 12-5 set-ending run that prevented Louisiana from evening the match.
With a kill on each of its first three swings in Set 3 the Rebels quickly opened a 5-3 lead and led the rest of the way. Demps, who scored five kills in the frame, began to find her groove getting two kills over a span of five rallies keeping the Cajuns within striking distance at 15-11.
Ole Miss sided out after a UL service error then came up with another timely block to advance the lead to 17-11. The teams traded side outs through Demps’ final kill of the night which made it 21-16 before the Rebels scored three straight for the final separation.
LEADING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS Sweeney in Set 2 and Demps in Set 3 both turned in a five-kill set performance. The duo combined for 16 of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 29 kills.
Demps’ output marked the eighth time in as many matches she’s scored at least nine kills.
Advertisement
Freshman Lindsey Henry had a hand in both of the team’s blocks while Gustafson collected a team-leading eight digs.
Sweeney was a close second with six digs and setter Ryleigh Garis scooped five digs to go with her team-high tying 12 assists.
Chelsea Gilmore and Sweeney served up two aces apiece to pace the Ragin’ Cajuns to six aces.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA The Ragin’ Cajuns return home to E.K. Long Gym for the Ragin’ Cajuns Classic scheduled for Friday-Saturday, September 19-20.
Louisiana hosts Southern and Nicholls in the round robin event, meeting the Jaguars on Friday (Sept. 19) at 6:00 p.m. and then matching up with the Colonels on Saturday (Sept. 20) at Noon.
Advertisement
The Ragin’ Cajuns Classic marks the final non-conference matches of the 2025 season. Louisiana opens Sun Belt play the following weekend, September 26-27, on the road at Texas State.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS Follow the Ragin’ Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsVB [twitter.com]), Facebook (/RaginCajunsVB [facebook.com]) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsVB [instagram.com]) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Volleyball.
Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here [apps.apple.com] for iOS/Apple platforms and here [play.google.com] for Android platforms.
