The legislature continued its crackdown on imported seafood in this session, passing several bills aimed at protecting Louisiana shrimpers. Houma Representative Jessica Domangue carried a bill by Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, giving the agency the authority to seize and destroy seafood at ports that fail to meet the state’s testing requirements.
“We had LDH doing that, and LDH is still going to be able to do it. However, they just need some help to be able to do that,” Domangue said.
In all, Domangue authored six seafood bills which gained Landry’s signature. In addition, a bill by Lafitte Representative Tim Kerner to crack down on mixing imported shrimp with domestic shrimp was signed into law last month. Domangue says these new laws go far beyond protecting local shrimpers.
“We’re protecting the realtor, the restaurant owner; we’re protecting the people at the dock, everyone, by this piece of legislation,” Domangue noted.
All these bills come as genetic testing continues to uncover the presence of imported shrimp at restaurants, including restaurants which claim that their shrimp originates from Louisiana waters. Domangue says that doesn’t necessarily mean those restaurants are intentionally being deceitful.
“It may not be the restaurant’s fault that that’s happening, because they’re buying it from a distributor who’s telling them it’s Louisiana seafood,” Domangue explained.