Saving Seafood

Rep. Graves Asks Commerce For Expedited Fishery Disaster Determination

February 7, 2022 — A recently released report detailing infrastructure, revenue and resource loss to Louisiana Fisheries have prompted a Louisiana Congressmen to ask the Department of Commerce (DOC) to expedite a Fishery Disaster Determination due to major damage related to impacts of Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta and especially Ida.

Congressman Garret Graves request to to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo comes after a recent economic assessment verified the devastating impact to the state’s fishing communities.

The recently released report by Louisiana Sea Grant and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries documents extreme damage and loss of revenue over all five sectors of the industry; commercial fishermen, recreational fishing, docks, processors and marinas.

The report and supporting analysis not only confirmed the importance of the state’s fishing industry but also the massive impact of the storms. It demonstrated more than 8,500 businesses were impacted, resulting in $305 million in damage to fisheries infrastructures such as marinas, docks, seafood processors, and dealers. Combined with an additional $118 million in resource loss and $155 million revenue loss, the total estimated impact is estimated at $579 million.

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News

Hurricanes cost Louisiana’s commercial seafood sector USD 580 million since 2020

January 28, 2022 — Chauvin, Louisiana, U.S.A.-based shrimp firm Pearl Inc. suffered USD 8.5 million (EUR ) worth of damage due to Hurricane Ida in August 2021. The company’s plant sustained 180-mph winds for approximately six hours, with its freezer getting blown away and the plant getting nearly completely leveled, according to owner Andrew Blanchard.

Blanchard’s business was one of thousands in Louisiana’s seafood industry impacted by hurricanes Ida, Laura, Delta, and Zeta over the past two years. A new report released by Louisiana Sea Grant and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries found the four hurricanes since 2020 cost the seafood industry in the U.S. state of Louisiana almost USD 580 million (EUR 521 million) in losses to infrastructure, revenue, and resources. The report documents extreme damage and loss of revenue over all five sectors of the industry: commercial fishermen, recreational fishing, docks, processors, and marinas.

Read the full story from National Fisherman at SeafoodSource

 

Study estimates recent hurricanes inflicted $579 million in damage to Louisiana fisheries

January 14, 2022 — Hurricanes over the past two seasons delivered an estimated $579 million in losses to Louisiana’s commercial fishing industry, a new state study shows.

Findings of the study, conducted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, LSU and Louisiana Sea Grant, were released Thursday.

The study analyzes losses to infrastructure, including boats, seafood sales and fish and seafood stocks. It also projects financial losses from the past two hurricane seasons that are continuing into 2022.

Read the full story at the Daily Comet

 

Hurricane Ida Devastates Louisiana Seafood Industry, Infrastructure Completely Destroyed

September 2, 2021 — Hurricane Ida has left a path of destruction through Louisiana, and in that path was seafood community after seafood community. As people across southeastern Louisiana began to take in the scale of damage, the task has been severely hindered by widespread power outages and limited phone service.

Ater landing at near-category 5 hurricane strength, Hurricane Ida made landfall with an immense storm surge riveting through coastal areas with winds gusting up to 172 miles per hour.

According to a statement by Louisiana Sea Grant’s Thomas Hymel, “docks in Dulac were heavily damaged, as well as Lafourche and Terrabonne parishes.”

Montegut fisherman Lance Nacio told Gulf Seafood News, fishermen and their families are in need of fuel and water.  “Roads are just clearing. Its bad here, really bad,” he said. “A majority of the boats made it through the storm, but the seafood communities infrastructure and homes have been severely damaged.”

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News

Hurricane Laura delivers a blow to Louisiana fishing industry

September 3, 2020 — Location determines the extent of damage for those in the fisheries industry have sustained from Hurricane Laura.
Mark Shirley, aquaculture specialist with the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, said the farther west you go, the worse it is.

“Most of the fishermen in the Vermilion Parish area were able to move their boats and equipment to higher ground before the storm,” he said. “However, the guys in Cameron were hit really hard.”

Shirley said he was far enough from the east side of the storm that he didn’t receive a lot of damage. He said his lights are on, and he didn’t lose anything in his freezer.

“We have fishermen in areas that escaped a lot of damage who are chipping in to help those in need,” he said. Some of that help includes generators, fuel and other supplies.

Thu Bui, AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant fisheries agent, said fishermen in the lower St. Mary Parish area dodged a bullet with this storm.

“We were really preparing for that big 12- to 18-foot surge of water that was predicted, but thankfully, that didn’t happen,” she said. “We had about 4 to 5 feet in Intracoastal City, but it could have been a lot worse.”

Read the full story at St. Mary Now

Effort aims to curb number of abandoned crab traps in Louisiana waters

April 20, 2020 — A new program is targeting the thousands of abandoned crab traps that litter Louisiana’s coastal waterways.

Louisiana Sea Grant, a coastal advocacy and research group based at LSU, has received a $40,000 federal grant to lead the project. The money comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Louisiana leads the nation in the number of commercial blue crab fishermen, with more than 2,500 license holders who have no limit on the number of traps they can operate, Louisiana Sea Grant says in a news release. Some commercial crabbers run as many as 800 to 2,000 traps each.

In addition, Louisiana has more than 6,600 licensed recreational crab fishermen who can operate 10 traps each.

Between commercial and recreational crabbers, there can be more than 66,000 traps in the water, the group says.

“On average, 130 traps per crabber are lost each year due to storms, accidents and intentional abandonment,” Sea Grant says. “The result is in an estimated 11 million crabs lost to ghost fishing by derelict traps. Other fish, such as red drum, black drum and summer flounder also can get stuck in the traps.

Read the full story at Houma Today

LOUISIANA: Here’s how to score some fresh seafood for dinner while helping local fishermen

April 20, 2020 — A program started almost a decade ago to help commercial fishermen locally and across Louisiana’s coast sell their catches directly to customers is paying off for some amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Stay-at-home orders and shutdowns the state has ordered in an effort to slow the deadly virus’s spread have closed or slowed business at many restaurants and markets, wreaking havoc on the supply chain upon which fishermen usually rely. Freezers at most large seafood processing companies were full, or filling up, and labor became unreliable.

That’s where Louisiana Direct Seafood comes in, says Robert Twilley, executive director of Louisiana Sea Grant, which launched the online-based program in 2011.

It helps commercial fishermen, shrimpers, crabbers and oyster harvesters sell a portion of their catch directly to the public at premium prices. And that helps offset sinking dockside prices due to imports, increased fuel costs and the financial struggles resulting from 2019′s spring floods.

Read the full story at Houma Today

LSU AgCenter, Louisiana Sea Grant aim to help struggling seafood industry

April 6, 2020 — The LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant are working to help the seafood industry, which is struggling with a massive financial challenge created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Restaurants that use large amounts of seafood are only offering carryout service, and they have drastically scaled back their seafood purchases.

“I’m sure it’s less than 10% of its previous quantity,” said Rusty Gaude, LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant fisheries agent in the New Orleans area.

A seafood marketing program, Louisiana Direct Seafood, is one way of helping fishermen and dealers by connecting them directly with consumers.

The Louisiana Direct Seafood program helps consumers buy seafood from fishermen and vendors.

Fishermen in Cameron, Delcambre, Lafourche-Terrebonne and Southshore New Orleans areas post their fresh catch messages on a website. Customers are able to visit the site and see in real time who has fresh product ready for sale, where they are located and their contact information. Consumers can then contact the sellers directly to establish a price, place orders and arrange pickup at the docks or other locations.

Read the full story at The Houma Times

Coronavirus: Struggling Louisiana fishermen, shrimpers look for new ways to sell catch

April 3, 2020 — Louisiana’s fishermen and shrimpers are struggling to sell their catches as the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has severely depressed demand from buyers.

The drop in demand largely comes from the state’s shutdown of restaurants, aside from carryout and delivery options, to prevent further spread of the virus. Gov. John Bel Edwards issued an order closing dine-in operations March 16.

With low demand, processing plants’ freezers and inventories are full, leaving most fishermen with nowhere to sell their catches, said Thomas Hymel, a marine extension agent with the LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Sea Grant.

Read the full story at the Lafayette Daily Advertiser