The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) claims that 96 percent of the shrimp tested at restaurants in Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A., was imported, despite being largely marketed as domestic product.
DNA testing conducted by Houston, Texas, U.S.A.-based SEAD Consulting found that of 44 restaurants sampled, only two – Salt Shack on the Bay in Tampa and Stillwaters Tavern in St. Petersburg – were confirmed to be serving local Gulf of Mexico shrimp.
“When diners think of Tampa and St. Pete, they think of seafood fresh from the Gulf,” SEAD Consulting Founder and Commercial Fishery Scientist David Williams said in a statement. “To discover that the majority of restaurants are serving shrimp sourced from overseas is a wake-up call for the area’s food scene.”
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