Saving Seafood

The tide is changing for offshore aquaculture

May 4, 2017 — Harlon Pearce walks muck-booted past processors gutting wild drum and red snapper to showcase a half-full new 5,000-square-foot freezer he hopes someday will house a fresh boom of marine fish. Harlon’s LA Fish sits just across the railroad tracks from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, perfectly positioned to ship fish out of Louisiana.

As president of the New Orleans–based Gulf Seafood Institute, seafood supplier Pearce is a big fish himself in these parts, connected to fishermen, federal agencies, restaurateurs and even the oil industry. He knows better than anyone that wild fisheries alone can’t supply U.S. consumers’ growing demand for fish. Which is why he’s doing his best to bring everyone to the table to achieve one goal: farming the Gulf of Mexico.

No commercial finfish operations are in U.S. federal waters, between 3 and 200 miles offshore. Pearce and others are convinced that jumping into the rapidly growing open ocean aquaculture industry expanding into offshore waters globally is the future of sustainable seafood.

In 2015, per capita fish consumption in the United States was 15.5 pounds (PDF), up from 12.5 pounds (PDF) in 1980. Globally, however, the amount of all wild-caught fish has stayed relatively stagnant — at around 90–100 million tons — for the past two decades.

Globally, in total, around 160 million metric tons of fish — wild, farmed, marine and freshwater — are produced to satisfy annual demand.

The Gulf of Mexico annually yields a catch of about 32,000 tons of wild-caught finfish, which are bony fish such as snapper or grouper. Given regional demand, Pearce said, “our wild marine fish don’t go too far.” To his point, a seafood restaurant is on practically every block of New Orleans’ French Quarter.

Read the full story at GreenBiz

Pearce and Gossen to Join Thought-Leaders on Joint Ocean Commission Roundtable

April 12, 2016 — The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative Leadership Council is holding roundtable discussions focused on the Arctic, East, West, and Gulf Coasts, and has invited two Gulf Seafood Institute members to have a seat at its Gulf roundtable being held in New Orleans.

GSI’s Board President Harlon Pearce, owner on Harlon’s LA Fish in the Crescent City, and Jim Gossen, Chairman of Sysco Louisiana Seafood, will join other thought-leaders at the invitation-only roundtable discussion on Gulf Coast regional ocean and coastal priorities being held on May 5th at the Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette Hotel.

“I’m excited to join this important roundtable discussion,” said Gossen, Vice President of GSI. “Management of our coasts and oceans are more important than ever.” Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood Institute

“I’m excited to join this important roundtable discussion,” said Gossen, Vice President of GSI. “Management of our coasts and oceans are more important than ever. The Gulf of Mexico, and other coastal waters, are resources providing food security for our growing population. Serious thought and planning is essential to protect these renewable resources.”

See the full story at the Gulf Seafood Institute

Fish Farming In Gulf Poses Questions And Opportunities

February 3, 2016 — Most of the fish we eat in the U.S. comes from other countries. Fishermen in Louisiana have long sought to displace some of those imports but the industry has faced challenges like hurricanes and the 2010 BP oil spill.

Now, a new source of fish in the gulf offers promise — but also raises questions.

For the first time, the Gulf of Mexico is open for fish farming.

Companies can apply for permits through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. Then they can install floating fish cages — like those already in place in state waters off the coasts of Maine, Washington and Hawaii.

Harlon Pearce owns Harlon’s LA Fish, which sells local fish to restaurants and grocery stores across the south. On a recent afternoon his refrigerated warehouse in Kenner was full of them. He pointed to yellowfin tuna, snapper, black drum and sheep’s head. It doesn’t always look this way.

Pearce, who is on the board of the Gulf Seafood Institute, says he freezes a lot of his fish in order to meet continuous demand, but ultimately always runs out. He wants to sell nationwide and contract with big chains, like Red Lobster, but he says, “We never have enough fish to supply the markets. Never.”

That’s true for a couple of reasons – the seafood industry in the Gulf still hasn’t bounced back from the 2010 BP oil spill, but it’s always fluctuated due to hurricanes and pollution.

Read the full story at New Orleans Public Radio

 

GSI’s Walk On the Hill Important For Survival of Gulf Fisheries

January 25, 2016 — Even before members of the Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) took their first steps toward Capitol Hill, they realized this year’s “Walk on the Hill” would be extremely important for the survival of commercial fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

“The surprise that state boundary limits for all fisheries going to nine miles introduced into the Sportsman’s package has dire consequences for a lot of seafood sectors that haven’t been vetted,” said GSI Florida Board Member David Krebs, president of Ariel Seafood. “I think we are all surprised these amendments have been attached to an Environment and Public Works bill instead of through the Commerce Committee. Hopefully GSI will be able to circumvent the damage before it is done.”Hours before GSI members were scheduled to leave their D.C. headquarters at the Hotel George, GSI received word that two amendments would be offered to the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act being heard at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that would negatively impact the harvesting of commercial seafood in the Gulf of Mexico. One of these amendments would have permanently extended state waters in the Gulf of Mexico to nine miles, effectively rescinding the Magnuson Stevens Act for all commercial, charter-for-hire and recreational fishing out to 9 miles – an outcome that would imperil consumers’ access to Gulf fisheries.

With a telephone glued to his ear, GSI President Harlon Pearce, owner of Harlon’s LA Fish in New Orleans, made call after call to other organizations to raise awareness of the proposed amendments. The organization made last minute changes to its legislative agenda as it prepared to meet with the Gulf Congressional Delegation, as well as Maryland’s Senator Barbara Mikulski and Alaska’s Senator Dan Sullivan.

“We often meet with legislators outside of the Gulf,” said Pearce. “It was a stroke of luck that we were in the right place at the right time to bring this important information on the proposed amendments to their attention. We also thanked them for all they have done for our industry in the past. It is important to meet with legislators outside of the Gulf to educate them that what affects our fisheries eventually affects their constituents.. We want to keep Gulf fish available for all Americans.”

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood Institute

 

Gulf Seafood Institute’s President Harlon Pearce Appointed to NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee

December 15, 2015 — Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker has appointed Gulf Seafood Institute’s President Harlon Pearce, along with three other new advisors, to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee. The Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) advises the Secretary on all living marine resource matters currently the responsibility of the Department of Commerce.

According to NOAA, the expertise of MAFAC members is used to evaluate and recommend priorities and needed changes in national programs and policies, including the periodic reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. The members represent a wide spectrum of fishing, aquaculture, protected resources, environmental, academic, tribal, state, consumer, and other related national interests from across the U.S., and ensure the nation’s living marine resource policies and programs meet the needs of these stakeholders.

As owner and operator of Harlon’s LA Fish in New Orleans, a seafood processing and distribution company, Pearce has more than 46 years of experience in the seafood industry.  He has been an advocate for developing strong and viable seafood industries, a “go to” source for the media and seafood events, and a guest speaker and lecturer.

A tireless spokesperson for Gulf seafood, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Gulf Seafood Institute, which advocates on behalf of the entire Gulf seafood community. Pearce previously served for nine years as the Louisiana Representative on Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council and for 11-years was Chairman of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, a tenure which spanned both the devastating hurricane season of 2005 and the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Institute