April 20, 2015 — A small group of Texas seafood leaders, restaurateurs and chefs gathered around tables carefully lined together in an Austin seafood market and restaurant to give new life to an organization that has been on a year’s hiatus after successfully delaying the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s Amendment 28 that would have removed fresh Gulf fish from seafood counters and restaurant tables across the country.
Share the Gulf has reawakened to respond to efforts by Gulf state fishery managers to grab control of the Gulf of Mexico’s red snapper fishery, leaving the future of the commercial fishery in doubt.
In the fall of 2013 more than 130 chefs, restaurant owners, fishermen, seafood industry leaders and conservationists came together to form the coalition dedicated to raise awareness and support for fishermen, restaurants, retailer, consumers and tourism communities dependent upon fair access to fresh Gulf seafood.
Red snapper is a shared fishery under the Magnuson Stevens Act and overseen by the Gulf Council. It is currently split almost evenly between commercial and recreational fishermen. Due to what many see as an outdated data collection system , fishery managers have had no choice but to further restrict catch limits resulting in shortened seasons for recreational fishermen.
Share the Gulf Awakens
“Because of the initial interest in Share the Gulf two years ago we know there are a lot of people out there who have an interest in fresh sustainable seafood,” said Buddy Guindon of Galveston, TX, a spokesman for Gulf red snapper commercial fishermen. “It is going to be much easier this time to re-energize our base and get them out there in order that we can keep fish on the consumers plates in restaurants and in markets around the country.”
Guindon, who is the treasurer of the Gulf Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance and a Founding Member of the Gulf Seafood Institute, brought a film crew shooting a new reality show for the National Geographic Channel to the meeting. He feels Share the Gulf is needed more than ever if the state management initiative is to be to become history.
“Share the Gulf was dormant for a period because we didn’t have a challenge. I think we are going to come off stronger this time around because we are adding to our supporter base,” said the owner of Galveston’s Katie’s Seafood about delaying the initiative that could mean the end to commercially caught Gulf snapper. “Everyone in the organization is engaged in business, the members are much more willing to get involved and help when the need arises if you aren’t bugging them all the time.”
Read the full story from the Gulf Seafood Institute