OUTER BANKS, N.C. — Outer Banks restaurants faced their second round of shrimp authenticity testing in late June, this time during the busy summer season. In December, on behalf of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, SeaD Consulting surveyed 44 restaurants for fresh wild-caught American shrimp — only 16 restaurants passed that test.
"I guess when we must have tested negative in December when they ran that first round, it just must have been a supply issue. We try our best to get as much local shrimp as we can, as much local seafood as we can," said Arthur Richer, the owner and general manager of Hurricane Mo's in Kitty Hawk.
Hurricane Mo's was one of the 28 that failed the shrimp authenticity testing back in December. But this time, it was one of the 11 out of 22 restaurants to pass the test.
"I do think it's a pretty cool test that they do, and it just gives some shout-outs to a bunch of the local restaurants here that deserve the business," said Richer.
SeaD Consulting typically likes to do a second round of testing in coastal communities after the first time. In late June, 22 of the original 44 surveyed restaurants were randomly selected to go through the testing a second time.
Eleven of the 22 restaurants passed. Ten of the 11 restaurants that failed were advertising that they were serving wild-caught American shrimp, but the organization's results showed that they were using imported/farm-raised shrimp.
Vicki Basnight is well known on the Outer Banks, and her family's history in the commercial fishing industry goes back generations. Her restaurant, Vicki B's, was one of the six that passed the test both times.
"I think if folks are coming here and they're looking for seafood that comes from here, we should all serve the seafood that does come from here. Seasonality does play a part. If something is seasonal, if it's in season, we serve it," said Basnight.
SeaD Consulting has done this testing in countless coastal communities. Erin Williams, the organization's co-founder, was blunt about the results of this second round of testing.
"We are happy to see that there's been slight improvement. However, there's obviously still a lot of work to be done. When you're talking about 50%, that's still a very large number and a lot of good quality American wild caught seafood is not being served on those plates," said Williams.
Ten of the 11 restaurants that were found to be serving imported shrimp claimed they were selling local shrimp. On top of supporting coastal fishing communities, the organization also is pushing for law changes for mislabeling.
"If you're already saying that's what you're serving and putting a premium on that plate because of your location, it should be the real deal," said Williams.
The hope is that awareness and testing like this can spark a change. The goal is that in the future in North Carolina, legislation can be introduced for mandatory labeling and testing for authentic seafood.
"North Carolina would, by putting forth labeling laws, not only support the average diner but also the culture and heritage of the coastal communities," said Williams.
Commercial fishing is a heritage that goes back hundreds of years on the Outer Banks and something that neighbors here would never want to see disappear.
"I feel for these people that were grown up in this and like I said, I was on a boat from the time I was a baby. So are all of these other people, and that's what they know, and they're good at it, they love what they do, and the product they bring in it's good for you," said Basnight.
The six restaurants that passed the test both times are:
- Goombays Grille & Raw Bar, 1608 N Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
- Greentail's Seafood Market & Kitchen, 3022 S Croatan Hwy Unit 34, Nags Head, NC 27959
- O'Neal's Sea Harvest, 618 Harbor Rd, Wanchese, NC 27981
- Red Sky Casual Dining & Cocktails, 1197 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949
- Sea Chef Dockside Kitchen, 8770 Oregon Inlet Rd, Nags Head, NC 27959
- Vicki B's Restaurant & Market, 301 Budleigh St, Manteo, NC 27954
More detailed testing results from SeaD Consulting for the restaurants that failed this round of testing can also be found below:
- 10 of 11 explicitly described serving American wild-caught shrimp when testing proved otherwise.
- 7 of 11 served imported/farm-raised shrimp during both sampling periods.
- 4 of 11 switched from American wild-caught to imported/farm-raised shrimp since the previous round of testing.
The full press release can be found here.
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