Shrimp Tales: Understanding Alabama’s Seafood Labeling Laws & How to Support Local Seafood

As part of the 2026 Winter Showcase Series presented by Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, please join us for this presentation from Chandra Wright, Shrimp Tales: Understanding Alabama’s Seafood Labeling Laws & How to Support Local Seafood.

Chandra Wright is the Director of Environmental & Educational Outreach for the Lodge & Learning Campus at Gulf State Park. Prior to her current role, she was the Nature Tourism Specialist for the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism. During her tenure, she worked with many members of the Gulf seafood industry to raise awareness of the importance of supporting local seafood and its place in our coastal cultural heritage. Due to her passion for Alabama’s seafood community, Chandra was appointed the first-ever Chief Shrimp Investigator (CSI) for the 52nd Annual National Shrimp Festival. In this volunteer role, she was responsible for ensuring that all shrimp served at the 2025 festival, held in Gulf Shores, was domestic wild-caught shrimp as required by the vendors’ contracts. Attendees will hear from CSI Chandra Wright as she recaps lessons learned from her first season, including how the ability to conduct DNA testing onsite in real-time allowed her to protect festival-goers from foreign shrimp. Attendees will also learn about Alabama’s new Seafood Labeling Law, how to use it to make informed decisions about the seafood they eat, and how they can support the local seafood industry.