Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser is renewing his call for President Trump and Louisiana’s Congressional delegation to impose a 10-cent-per-pound inspection fee for imported seafood into the U.S. As the Louisiana Radio Network reports, Nungesser’s remarks, in support of inspection fees, follow the massive recall of potentially radioactive shrimp imported from Indonesia and sold in Walmart in 13 states, including Louisiana.
As Nungesser spells out, “That (inspection fees) would allow them to hire thousands of inspectors to inspect more imported seafood. We inspect less than five percent of the imported seafood.”
Nungesser says shrimp is coming in from overseas infected with antibiotics all the time. “We know this stuff is coming in infected. Yet, we need our congressional delegation to stand up to the lobbying efforts that are importing this garbage and get some inspectors, add a fee on, and lets inspect more of this seafood.”
Nungesser says this is why Louisiana lawmakers recently passed laws to address this problem. Louisiana Act 372 (2019), which became effective on September 1, 2019, requires food service establishments to disclose the origin of imported crawfish and shrimp to consumers, while Act 148 (2024), which took effect January 1, 2025, significantly enhances these requirements. This measure mandates stronger labeling on menus or signs and introduces penalties for non-compliance with the expanded seafood origin law, which is designed to protect the state's seafood industry.
