South Carolina restaurants that serve shrimp caught overseas now have to tell their customers about it. A new state law requiring disclosure of foreign imported shrimp took effect Wednesday, forcing restaurants, mobile food units, cafeterias and seafood retailers that sell ready-to-eat shrimp to post notices when their menu includes foreign imported shrimp.
The requirement, reported by WCBD News 2, grew out of a controversy that became known as Shrimpgate, which in 2025 raised concerns about restaurants advertising imported shrimp as if it had been locally caught. State Rep. Bill Herbkersman sponsored the legislation, House Bill 4248, and has said concerns raised by local shrimpers helped prompt the bill. Herbkersman has said the disclosure requirements could push customers toward restaurants that serve domestically caught shrimp, giving diners a clearer reason to seek out local seafood.
The law does not ban imported shrimp outright. According to the Island Packet, businesses that serve a mix of domestic and foreign shrimp must post the disclaimer “Some items served at this establishment may contain foreign imported shrimp. Ask for more information,” while those serving only imported shrimp must use a slightly different notice: “Some items served at this establishment contain foreign imported shrimp. Ask for more information.” Both versions must appear on menus, where menus are provided, and at the main entrance.
Who Has to Post a Notice, and Who Doesn't
Restaurants that serve only shrimp caught in coastal U.S. waters don't have to do anything under the law, the Island Packet reports, and the requirement also doesn't apply to retailers that sell only raw shrimp. Domestic shrimp, for purposes of the disclosure, includes product harvested not just off South Carolina but also in Georgia, North Carolina and Florida.
In Mount Pleasant, some restaurants say the new rule simply codifies what they've already been doing. Allison Cagle, a partner and owner at The Wreck of the Richard and Charlene, said her restaurant has sourced shrimp from a neighboring seafood supplier for years and already uses signage to tell customers exactly where their shrimp comes from. Cagle told the Post and Courier that storms and severe weather can shorten the shrimping season or reduce production, which occasionally complicates keeping an all-local supply on hand.
That supplier is Tarvin Seafood, which processes and supplies shrimp purchased from local boats to restaurants throughout the Mount Pleasant area. The company's owner said the shrimping industry is contending with rising fuel costs and increasingly expensive equipment, while Herbkersman has cited competition from cheaper imported shrimp as creating ongoing economic pressure for domestic fishermen. The owner said transparency about seafood sourcing matters regardless of whether a restaurant serves imported or domestic shrimp, adding that restaurants serving imported shrimp should simply disclose that plainly. The owner advised consumers to ask restaurants directly where their seafood comes from.
Enforcement and Penalties
The South Carolina Department of Agriculture will enforce the new rule. Businesses initially receive a warning and three days to correct a violation before subsequent offenses can draw fines of $100 to $5,000 per day, according to WCBD. The bill, formally H. 4248 and enacted as Act No. 0254 of 2026, adds Section 39-25-175 to state law and was signed by Gov. Henry McMaster after passing the legislature earlier this year.
A Pattern of Mislabeling Across the State
The law follows years of testing that found widespread mislabeling at South Carolina restaurants. Testing in June 2025 found that 40 of 44 Charleston establishments served imported shrimp, while roughly two dozen were alleged to have advertised that product as locally caught. A follow-up report in February found that 77% of those same Charleston restaurants were still serving imported shrimp without disclosing it, while 75% of tested Myrtle Beach restaurants were falsely advertising local shrimp.
A separate round of testing covered by WRDW found some improvement but still widespread mislabeling: just 23% of 22 Charleston-area restaurants tested served authentic American wild-caught shrimp, up from 9% in the initial round, while 77% were still serving farm-raised imported shrimp while implying it was domestically caught. The Southern Shrimp Alliance called that progress only incremental, saying voluntary transparency was not enough. Separately, the Post and Courier identified five establishments in that testing round confirmed to be serving domestic shrimp: Acme Lowcountry Kitchen on the Isle of Palms, Grace & Grit in Mount Pleasant, Rappahannock Oyster Bar in Charleston, Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar in Charleston, and Mt. Pleasant Seafood.
A Shrinking Industry Facing Import Pressure
Behind the labeling fight is a domestic shrimping industry that has been losing ground for years. South Carolina's total shrimp harvest averages about 2.5 million pounds annually and is valued at around $8 million, per the Island Packet, which attributes much of the industry's decline to lost working waterways and rising costs for diesel fuel and maintenance even as local shrimp prices have stayed largely flat.
The pressure extends beyond South Carolina. Gulf and South Atlantic shrimp landings fell to 158.9 million pounds in 2024, valued at $257.9 million, which the Southern Shrimp Alliance described, as reported by National Fisherman, as by far the lowest harvest level in those regions since 1961 — a 25% drop from 2023 volumes. Locally, shrimpers have told Count on 2 that fuel prices have risen from a typical $3 a gallon to more than $5 a gallon, a steep cost given that most boats in the area burn between 100 and 150 gallons a day. Nationally, about 94% of the shrimp Americans eat is imported, mostly from Asia and Latin America, according to Aquaculture Magazine.
South Carolina isn't the only state responding with labeling rules. Alabama passed a similar law in 2024 requiring restaurants and grocery delis to label shrimp by country of origin or as imported, the same outlet reports, after genetic testing in Shreveport, Louisiana, found that 14 of 24 sampled restaurants implied they served Gulf shrimp while actually serving imported product. Consumer research cited in that report also found South Carolinians are willing to pay 41% more for shrimp they know is locally sourced, a gap that may explain why the new disclosure requirement carries real stakes for restaurants on both sides of the shrimp supply chain.
What the new law won't settle right away is its ultimate effect on prices, restaurant practices or the state's shrimping fleet. That impact, as South Carolina officials and industry watchers have acknowledged, remains to be seen.
