Shrimp fraud at Texas coastal restaurants appears to be declining after new state disclosure rules and genetic testing put operators on notice.
Galveston-area restaurants are serving significantly more authentic Gulf shrimp than a year ago, according to new genetic testing that found shrimp mislabeling dropped from 59% in 2024 to 23% in late 2025.
This shift, supporters attribute to heightened scrutiny and a Texas law banning deceptive shrimp labeling.
The findings come from a follow-up investigation by SeaD Consulting, which retested 22 restaurants in the Galveston, Kemah, and Seabrook areas that had previously been sampled. Fourteen of those restaurants, or 63.6%, were confirmed to be serving domestic wild-caught Gulf shrimp, up from 41% the year before, according to SeaD’s data.
The testing coincided with the implementation of Senate Bill 823, a measure passed by the Texas Legislature and effective September 1, 2025, that prohibits restaurants from labeling imported shrimp as “Texas shrimp,” “Gulf shrimp,” “American shrimp,” or “domestic shrimp.”
The Federal Trade Commission regulates consumer fraud nationwide, but the Texas law establishes a state-level standard to curb seafood misrepresentation.
“This year-over-year improvement proves that verification works,” said David Williams, commercial fishery scientist and founder of SeaD Consulting.
According to SeaD, five restaurants were found to have misrepresented shrimp origin in both testing periods, which the group described as evidence of persistent, structural fraud. At the same time, two restaurants corrected prior mislabeling by switching from imported shrimp to domestic Gulf shrimp, while one restaurant moved in the opposite direction. Truthful disclosure of imported shrimp also improved, with three restaurants accurately disclosing imports, compared with one a year earlier.
State Rep. Terri Leo Wilson, who carried SB 823 in the Texas House, said the improvement appears to stem less from formal enforcement than from the reputational and economic pressure created by testing and publicity.
“I’m not even so sure that there are mechanisms that are driving the change,” Wilson said in a telephone interview with The Dallas Express. “I think that just knowing that you’re going to be tested or could be tested, and then that could create some negative media for your restaurant, I think that that plays into it.”
Wilson said the law currently lacks a dedicated enforcement arm and relies largely on consumer complaints or third-party testing to trigger penalties through local health departments. She said future legislation could add funding mechanisms or require clearer menu disclosures, including explicit labeling of imported shrimp.
“If they’re using imported shrimp, we’re just asking you to label it imported shrimp,” Wilson said. “So people know the difference.”
The difference between foreign and domestic shrimp is significant.
DX has repeatedly reported instances in which the FDA halted imports of foreign shrimp due to alleged contamination with veterinary drug residues. DX previously covered instances in which the state Agricultural Commissioner warned consumers about radioactive shrimp entering the state.
Wilson says that domestic shrimp are not only healthier and more environmentally friendly but also put Texans back to work.
Amid years of India and Ecuador flooding the Texas market with imported shrimp, prices have plummeted below profitable levels for Texas fishermen, and several counties have reportedly declared disaster over the state of their shrimping industry.
However, the representative indicated that Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on foreign shrimp have helped mitigate some of the damage inflicted on Texas’s industry by importers.
Industry advocates say mislabeling harms both consumers and domestic shrimpers, who struggle to compete with cheaper foreign imports.
“Domestic shrimpers cannot compete against deception,” said Blake Price of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, which funded SeaD’s testing. “What’s encouraging is that when fraud is exposed, some restaurants do the right thing. What’s unacceptable is that a core group continues to mislabel, knowing the harm it causes to fishermen and coastal economies.”
SeaD’s Texas findings mirror similar testing in Louisiana, where recent sampling in Metairie found an 83% authenticity rate but also identified cases in which imported shrimp was sold at higher prices while described as Gulf shrimp, according to a separate SeaD data release.
Supporters of the Texas law argue that reducing fraud is part of a broader effort to stabilize the domestic shrimp industry, which has also been affected by tariffs on foreign shrimp, rising fuel prices, and federal regulations.
Wilson noted that eliminating misrepresentation helps level the playing field for Gulf Coast shrimpers and coastal communities that depend on them.
“When you eliminate the misrepresentation of what you’re selling, I do think that’s a move,” she said. “It moves the needle toward a more sustainable future for our shrimpers and, therefore, not just a more sustainable future for shrimpers, but also along the coastal communities, because we rely on them.”
SeaD said it plans to continue testing in Texas and other Gulf states, arguing that ongoing verification is necessary to maintain compliance and deter repeat offenders.
