RALEIGH, N.C. — October 19, 2013 — A New York seafood processing company plans to put an import processing facility in North Carolina, and local watermen and seafood dealers aren’t happy about it.
Gov. Pat McCrory and N.C. Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker announced Friday that RC Creations LLC, a seafood processing company, will establish a new facility in Pender County. The company plans to create 120 new jobs and invest more than $25 million by the end of 2017.
While the governor’s office issued a press release that indicates the governor considers this good news, North Carolina seafood dealers and watermen aren’t pleased to hear about it. Bradley Styron, a member of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission and owner and operator of Quality Seafood on Cedar Island, said it looks to him like a bad deal for the state.
“If they’re going to have a processing plant, let’s look out for North Carolina and it’s people, not tainted imports,” he said. “We can’t compete with imports, not with $4 per gallon fuel prices. I don’t know of anyone in Carteret County or North Carolina who can compete with third world wages.”
Mr. Styron said it looks to him as if people have already decided they prefer local seafood to imports. He pointed to the existence of local seafood promoting nonprofits like Carteret Catch and the fact local restaurants buy local seafood whenever possible as evidence.