The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned several US seafood restaurant chains for claiming that imported seafood was "locally caught."
Reuters reported that the FTC specifically warned that they would start cracking down on said false claims after receiving numerous complaints from the local fishing industry and spotted misleading advertising and menu descriptions.
In the same report, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shared that 80% of the country's seafood came from imports, pushing restaurants to plaster a fake marketing stint of "super-fresh seafood caught in nearby waters" to draw in customers.
US Seafood Restaurants Caught Misleading Customers
In an earlier report by Seafood Source, FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya gave warning letters to the USA's ten most prominent seafood restaurants, including Red Lobster and Legal Sea Foods.
The letter stated they could face investigations and penalties for falsely advertising their seafood. Bedoya emphasized that this includes all customer communication and urged them to be more truthful and accurate. At the same time, these seafood restaurants could find themselves in potential legal waters for compliance with truth-in-advertising laws, risking consumer trust and reputational damage in the long run.
Seafood Source also mentioned that this FTC warning came after the commission visited the Gulf Coast shrimpers responsible for legitimate locally sourced shrimps to restaurants. Unfortunately, they have been struggling to compete with seafood imports, currently at 90%, since they are cheaper. With FTC's new guidance on false advertisement of seafood sources, local shrimpers can get the support they need to maintain their position in the market.
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