KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. — "Is this local?" It's a simple question that many restaurants in the Outer Banks get year-round from diners when ordering seafood. It's also something that SeaD Consulting put to the test specifically for wild caught American shrimp at 44 random restaurants up and down the beach in early December.
“When people come down here, they expect local seafood," said Mark Sipe, owner and managing partner for Goombays Grille and Raw Bar.
Sipe says any chance they have to feature local seafood they’re going to. But if it’s not local, they are going to make sure their diners know.
"Everyone says, is this local? We let them know right off the bat, if it's not local, we tell them it's not. We are a raw bar, our shrimp 100% we're gonna try to get local every time, most of our tuna," said Sipe.
Earlier this month SeaD Consulting randomly tested 44 restaurants in the Outer Banks wanting seeing if they were serving local authentic wild caught American shrimp. 43 of the 44 claimed they were, but the organization says their testing showed that was only true for 16 restaurants, one being Goombays. SeaD Consulting's findings were that 28 restaurants were serving imported farm raised shrimp.
“Our object is not to hurt or damage restaurants. What we want to do is we want to promote the people who are serving the authentic product," said David Williams, founder of SeaD Consulting.
Williams is a commercial fishery scientist and for the last year, SeaD has been genetically testing seafood in restaurants in coastal communities. Williams says when restaurants aren’t following through with a product they are promoting, it impacts fishermen, fellow restaurants and consumers.
"People can't afford to go out shrimping because the imported shrimp is selling for so much less money compared to the local shrimp, that they can't compete and it's bad. The other thing that's bad is, it's almost like a tax on the restaurants that are doing the right thing. When restaurants sell local shrimp, they pay more money for it, it's more complicated to produce, and it puts them at a disadvantage against restaurants that are just serving imported, easy to use shrimp. Then also, a consumer has a right to know what they're putting inside their body," said Williams.
Overall a key part of their work is promoting the commercial fishing industry in coastal communities.
“It's a mission for us, firstly, because commercial fishing industries are what makes the coast what it is," said Williams.
SeaD also hopes their work inspires change, specifically legislation on mislabeling seafood products.
“We want truth in menu labeling, that's really it. Imported shrimp are good shrimp, just don't tell people that they're local or wild caught American shrimp. We need to elevate the local domestic shrimp to something that has value and can maintain an industry," said Williams.
For now, a sense of pride for the restaurants that are currently selling exactly what they’re advertising.
“We kind of knew we were in good company. But it was awesome to see it in print, see it on paper," said Sipe.
Sipe also knows how important it is for local restaurants like his to support our local fishing industry.
"It was a local economy almost before tourism, the fishing village in Wanchese, Manteo, Hatteras. I'm from Manteo, North Carolina, so I knew those guys growing up. We get some of our soft shell crabs from the Parker's at OBX Crabber, they've been fishing out of Colington for as long as I can remember. These are all people we've known forever, it feels good," said Sipe.
The 16 Outer Banks restaurants that SeaD Consulting says were serving authentic wild caught American shrimp as advertised include:
- 1587 Restaurant & Lounge — 405 Queen Elizabeth Ave, Manteo, NC 27954
- Barefoot Bernie’s Tropical Grill & Bar — 3730 N Croatan Hwy, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949
- Basnight’s Lone Cedar Café — 7623 S Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head, NC 27959
- Coastal Cravings — 1209 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949
- Goombays Grille & Raw Bar — 1608 N Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
- Greentail’s Seafood Market and Kitchen — 3022 S Croatan Hwy Unit 34, Nags Head, NC 27959
- I Got Your Crabs Shellfish Market and Oyster Bar — 3809 N Croatan Hwy, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949
- Lucky 12 Tavern — 3308 S Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head, NC 27959
- O’Neal’s Sea Harvest — 618 Harbor Rd, Wanchese, NC 27981
- Outer Banks Brewing Station — 600 S Croatan Hwy, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
- Red Sky Casual Dining & Cocktails — 1197 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949
- Roadside Bar & Grill — 1193 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949
- Sea Chef Dockside Kitchen — 8770 Oregon Inlet Rd, Nags Head, NC 27959
- The Paper Canoe — 1564 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949
- Village Table & Tavern — 1314 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949
- Vicki B’s Restaurant & Market — 301 Budleigh St, Manteo, NC 27954
The full press release with more information can be found here.
