Several bills would crack down on imported seafood in Louisiana

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Several bills at the state legislature this session look to place stricter regulations on imported seafood.

Proponents say the bills would ensure consumers are getting a safe product and aid local fishing industries that are dying due to imported seafood.

House Bill 676 by Rep. Timothy Kerner (R-Lafitte) calls for an additional seafood importer license that will base its fee on the volume of seafood being imported. Kerner said it’s difficult to stand by and watch a once-thriving industry slowly die.

“It’s so sad. These people have built their boats, spent their whole lives out there and can’t get anything for their product. Everyone in the country and around the world comes to Louisiana for a good time and good seafood, and it’s about time we support the people who supply it,” Kerner said.

Senate Bill 166 by Sen. Patrick Connik (R-Marrero) aims to ensure imported seafood is properly labeled. For instance, it would ban the use of Louisiana language or imagery on a product that didn’t originate in the Bayou State.

Some imported product packaging from China or South America features a picture of a shrimping boat in New Orleans or has a French-sounding name but are imports posing as local products. Connick wants bigger and bolder packaging so the public knows what they’re eating and buying.

Eddie LeJuine has been a commercial fisherman and shrimper in Hackberry for 40 years. He’s watched people come and go in the community and is watching his industry die out.

“It’s very sad to see. It’s almost like we’re being forgotten about, and our coastline could produce enough shrimp and fish for everyone that needs it, but yet we’re buying from foreign countries who don’t have the same level of regulations as we do. You don’t know what’s in the fish you’re eating from China,” LeJuine said.

LeJuine said he hopes these bills will push the industry back in the right direction, but the industry still has a long way to go.

“We’ve had hurricanes, COVID, plants dredging and destroying the ecosystem down here, and imported seafood. We’re struggling, and these lawmakers need to do something fast, make something happen for us. Ince it’s gone, it’s gone,” he said.

Other imported seafood bills are in different stages of progression.

HB 429 by Rep. Marcus Bryant, which would ban imported seafood in schools, has been referred to the Committee on Education.

SB 62 by Sen. Mike Fesi, which would improve testing on imported fish for public safety and impose fines for violations of health codes, has passed the Senate and been referred to the House.

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