NEW ORLEANS — Under a new law, restaurants, seafood markets, and grocers that sell foreign shrimp, or crawfish will now have to let you know if it's not homegrown.
It can be marked in the menus, or a sign will have to be posted at the entrance, letting you know it is selling the imported shellfish.
Some well-known local seafood restaurant managers say they agree with the law.
Walk into Deanie's Seafood Market and you know exactly where that seafood comes from, down to the small town in Terrebonne Parish.
“You know you're coming in, and you're getting Louisiana crawfish. You know you're coming in, and the redfish and the trout that we have are caught in Louisiana, you know it's fresh. You know it's good,” said Jeff Young, manager of Deanie's Restaurant and Seafood Market.
If it's out of season, there will be no imports. It's just taken off the menu.
“It's so much better from the waters out of Louisiana,” said one Deanie’s customer.
Customers say they are in favor of the newly passed Louisiana law, that states restaurants, seafood markets, and grocers will now have to let you know if shrimp and crawfish are foreign. It can be on menus, or a sign at the entrance.
“I want to know where my seafood is coming from. I don't think we should be subjected to eating seafood from China, and we don't know anything about it,” said another customer.
“Why do we need something from China when we live in Louisiana, and we are local people, so, we want local seafood, even if it costs a little more,” said a diner.
Local diners also want to support the people who harvest the seafood.
“This is their way of life. That is how they make their money. So, we want the local people with the local seafood. The best thing you can ever imagine,” said one customer.
“Those people work very, very hard out there. It's hot. It's humid, and if they can bring in seafood from China, and undersell them, then they're not being able to take care of their families,” one woman said.
Now it won't matter that much for Deanie’s, because they already sell everything that's local, but another restaurant owner told us for the ones that do buy from out of the country, it's going to add to their bottom line because they are going to have to reprint menus. They're also going to have to make signs, and the restaurant business is already operating on very small margins.
“Any sack of oysters we get delivered is going to be tagged each bag,” said Eric Cocus, general manager, and partner at Don’s Seafood in Metairie.
Over at Don's Seafood, they won't sell imports either. They say they know exactly how Louisiana seafood is regulated, making it safer, and fresher. They even know exactly where every oyster was raised.
“There we actually have some people that actually can taste the difference between different areas of where the oysters are actually coming from the different beds,” said Cocus.
And some palates will never need a sign hanging in a doorway.
“You can definitely tell the difference. Local, it's a different flavor. It really is, the way it tastes in your mouth,” said a customer.
Food establishments that don't let customers know about the imported shellfish, can be fined anywhere from $200 to $2,000.
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