As of Jan. 1, 2025, the US state of Louisiana has a new law that boasts that it better protects both the state's seafood industry and its consumers, reports Louisiana television station KPLC.

Senate Bill No. 116, also referred to as Act No. 148, was passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor in May. It requires restaurants in the state to disclose the origin of all the seafood listed on their menus.

The legislation, which was sponsored by state senators Patrick Connick, Robert Allain III and Mike Fesi, comes with some hefty fines for restaurants caught not in compliance.

A first offense can result in a fine of not more than $15,000 for each violation. A second offense increases the fine to not more than $25,000 per violation, while a third offense could result in a fine of not more than $50,000 per violation.

Further penalties could be issued, according to the bill.

"The legislature finds that consumers must be protected from misleading and false labeling of seafood products," the bill states. "Louisiana's seafood culture is world-renowned and is a vital part of our culture and heritage. It is not only potentially misleading but dangerous to public health to solely rely on names and phrases associated with Louisiana when purchasing or consuming seafood."

Per the bill, menus often include phrases like "Boudreauxs," "gulf" and "Louisiana-caught" when describing a seafood entree. However, the bill adds that those phrases are "often" in descriptions of products that include seafood "from foreign countries that are not adhering to the same quality standards as Louisiana."

"Consumers need to be well informed on what seafood they are purchasing and consuming," the bill states.

The new law follows recent testing that reportedly found an abundance of seafood mislabeling in US Gulf Coast restaurants, as reported by Undercurrent News. But some restaurants have already seemingly embraced the new bill.

"We actually love the new law because we have been serving Louisiana crawfish and gulf shrimp our entire operation," Paige Vidrine of restaurant Steamboat Bill's, which has several locations in Louisiana, told KPLC 7 News.

"You know, we've always been proud of our product, and with a great product, you're going to have a great business, and you can see that in our operations, you know, it's just the care and concern you make in the small details supporting local first and then building from there."