Over 50 years ago the National Shrimp Festival began as a celebration of local shrimp and the hard working shrimpers who netted the local crustacean. In fact, the entire event was dreamed up after locals had watched the Blessing of the Fleet in Bayou La Batre. So it is a goal of Shrimp Fest organizers to keep the edible products local.

You could say (and the event organizers did in a press release) that organizers of the 52nd Annual National Shrimp Festival are on a mission to ensure quality domestic shrimp are the only shrimp being sold at the Festival. 

“Over the past two days we have found several apparent violations of mandates that domestic shrimp be served,” said Festival Chief Shrimp Investigator Chandra Wright, “We are now reasonably confident that each of the 18 shrimp vendors are in compliance with our contract.” 

SeaD Consulting, the testing partner for the Annual National Shrimp Festival, uncovered several irregularities in overnight testing. “We met with each of the vendors flagged by SeaD and examined receipts and inventory,” said Shrimp Festival Co-Chair Rob Barnas, “One receipt indicated domestic shrimp, with the box even stating the product was not imported, when in fact the contents failed testing.” 

“With the discrepancies found between labeling and product, additional samples have been collected for further testing,” said Wright, “Each of the vendors that were flagged were given a list of local wild caught suppliers and have since complied with their contractual obligations.” 

“We are thankful that the Shrimp Festival has placed such a priority on shrimp sourcing,” said Ernie Anderson, President of the Organized Seafood Association of Alabama, “We know that our local shrimp is the best tasting and we hope festival patrons will learn that too.” 

About The Annual National Shrimp Festival 

The Annual National Shrimp Festival is Alabama's original beach party, taking place in Gulf Shores and organized by the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber. Attendees can expect four days filled with food, art, live music, and more! At the heart of this festival is a hard-working group of volunteers that have kept this tradition kicking since 1971. The event will be celebrating its 52nd festival October 9th through 12th, 2025.

About The Organized Seafood Association of America 

The mission of the Organized Seafood Association of Alabama (OSAA) is to promote greater efficiency in meeting the marketing infrastructure, policy and regulatory needs of the Alabama commercial seafood industries and support businesses of those industries. Using the OSAA cook trailer and marketing materials, OSAA promotes “Alabama Wild Caught Seafood” in venues all over the state. Learn more at eatalabamawildseafood.com.