Seafood reps’ message: Louisiana catches are safe

With representatives from the Louisiana Seafood Board, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, BP and the state House of Representatives all gathered last Wednesday in the Pelican Room of South Central Planning and Development Corporation in Gray, the resonating concern was the hit the seafood industry is taking on a day-to-day basis as a result of the oil disaster.

Ewell Smith, the executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, said the problem must be addressed at a national level.

“Our role is truly crisis communication, and getting the message to Washington, D.C.,” he said. “The challenge for us right now is that there are two perceptions. One is that we’re closed down, and the second is that seafood may not be safe.”

And because of this perception, many fishermen have not only had to lower prices to compete with imported products, but have lost customers all together.

“And the irony there,” Smith continued, “Is right now I see food being inspected by more than any other food source in the U.S.”

Another problem is that the seafood industry is feeling the hit across the entire Gulf Coast, and other states are unable to pick up any slack when it comes to fishing.

“We’re going to have to work with our sister states,” said Joe Harrison, House representative for District 51, who stressed the importance of banning together as a Gulf to promote a “safe seafood” message.

“The first thing we have to show the consumer is that our product is safe, that’s the bottom line,” Smith said. He estimates that Louisiana will probably need upward of $20 million, similar to Alaska during the Exxon Valdez spill, to get the message across.

“We have a long road ahead of us, we’re looking at at least five years to get the perception changed,” Smith said.

The customers aren’t the only loss the seafood industry has endured – many fishermen have taken their vessels into the Gulf waters to assist in clean-up efforts under Vessels of Opportunity (VOO), even though there’s still safe product in the water.

“I think it’s very important that fishermen do return, so if you’re in the Vessels of Opportunity program, we need you to go back and fish, and I think that’s what most people want to do,” said Larry Thomas, a BP representative.

Thomas also added that some changes will be implemented to the VOO program to encourage fishermen to start fishing, where it’s safe, again.

“First of all, if you have more than one vessel we’re going to push you out, you can’t have more than one vessel,” Thomas said. “Number two, we’re going to start rotating vessels so we can get other people involved and engaged in the plan.” Recreational vessels will also be removed from the program, according to Thomas.

“There’s a lot of shrimp out there, and we want it caught and we want it safe, and we want it to go to market,” he said.

In order to get fishermen back in the waters, Smith said there will be continuing advocacy in Washington, D.C., as well as coming up with incentive programs like “Back to the Docks.”

“That’s being worked on right now, we presented it to BP sometime back and it didn’t go anywhere, but it’s being revisited,” Smith said. Thomas said BP is interested in the program, but hasn’t determined a timeframe for implementation as of yet.

“BP has been here for a number of years, and we have a commitment to the Gulf of Mexico,” Thomas said.