Saving Seafood

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

Louisiana’s Seafood Industry Need Us Now More Than Ever

April 1, 2020 — What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Louisiana? Well, if you’re well adjusted then you either answered food or music. Both answers would be acceptable to me because quite frankly in Louisiana one without the other just doesn’t feel right.

While the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have been illustrated across social media platforms by our state’s musical performers, the effect the virus has had on Louisiana’s seafood industry may not have been as widely publicized.

Think about this fact. About 80% of shrimp caught in Louisiana is sold to restaurants. We already know how the virus has scaled back dining out so if you peel the layers back even further you don’t have to look too hard to see Louisiana’s seafood producing families are truly feeling the pinch.

Read the full story at KPEL

COVID-19 hits Louisiana’s $2 billion seafood industry hard, leaders urge public to buy local

March 31, 2020 — A whopping 80% of shrimp caught in Louisiana is sold to restaurants, but restaurants across the country are shutting their doors due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Now Louisiana’s $2 billion seafood industry is struggling.

“These are all very small family-owned businesses, and they are very dependent on local sales,” Twin Parish Port Commissioner Wendell Verret said.

Larger seafood businesses will also be hurt.

As demand for seafood goes down, they’ll be stuck with too much inventory. When businesses stop buying seafood from fishermen, the effects could be disastrous.

“Once the fishermen are impacted and they cannot continue to fish, they lose their boats. They lose their equipment. They lose their shop, and it’s very hard to get back into that business,” Verret added.

Read the full story at KLFY

LOUISIANA: Virus outbreak hits local shrimp industry hard

March 27, 2020 — Regulations and foreign trade have battered local shrimpers for years, and the economic quagmire caused by Covid-19 is only adding to the problems.

During Lent, sales of shrimp can double or even triple, but the closure of restaurants has frozen sales – literally. Because sales have plummeted, many shrimp processors are keeping their product on ice to wait out the crisis. This leaves a grim outlook for the future of the shrimping industry.

“Sales have plummeted,” said Kimberly Chauvin, of David Chauvin Seafood Company in Dulac. “I think we are down about 90-something percent.”

In 2018, Gulf of Mexico commercial fishermen caught 374 million pounds of seafood worth $780 million, according to the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance.

Chauvin said processors are keeping their product frozen, and this has meant that many shrimpers are staying on shore to avoid unstable prices. The larger shrimp are frozen with their heads still intact, preserving product to be sold at a later date but, Chauvin said, the overhead cost remains the same. Costs like utilities, payroll, insurance and licenses must still be met, and while she has heard talk of financial assistance to small businesses, she said she hasn’t seen action.

Read the full story at Houma Today

How to maximize coastal ecosystem recovery 10 years after BP spill: report

March 12, 2020 — As the 10th anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill approaches, state and federal agencies should consider nine strategies aimed at advancing ecosystem restoration, maximizing use of fine and settlement money stemming from the spill, and ensuring that local communities are involved in decisions affecting their future, according to a report released by a coalition of environmental groups Wednesday.

The report, “A Decade After Disaster,” was developed by the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition, which was created in 2008 to support coastal restoration efforts in Louisiana. It includes the Environmental Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, the National Audubon Society, and two Louisiana-based groups, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.

While the BP spill was an unprecedented catastrophe, it provided an equally unprecedented opportunity to Louisiana and other coastal states in the form of more than $16 billion in settlement money for coastal restoration efforts, said Steve Cochran, campaign director for the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition and a vice president with the Environmental Defense Fund.

“Louisiana has made significant progress since the Gulf oil disaster, and we can honor these losses by continuing to act with urgency on ongoing recovery and in the face of land loss and climate change,” Cochran said.

Read the full story at NOLA.com

Congressman requests $100M in fisheries disaster assistance to be allocated to Louisiana after record-setting opening of Bonnet Carre Spillway

February 28, 2020 — Congressman Garret Graves has written a letter to the National Oceanic an Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) asking them to allocated the remaining $100 million in fisheries disaster assistance to Louisiana to go towards mitigating the impacts of the recent openings of the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

This comes after NOAA announced Thursday, Feb. 27 that several states that experienced catastrophic fishery losses after Hurricane Michael would receive $65 million.

“Boiled shrimp. Boiled crabs. A dozen oysters on a platter. These delicacies feed Louisiana, the country, and the world. But yet we will find a way to bite the hand that feeds,” Graves said. “Louisiana is still hurting from losses to our fisheries after the opening of the spillway. Fisheries in south Louisiana are engines of local economies, employing both commercial and recreational fishermen, processors, marinas, supportive maritime industries, and restaurants. However, this isn’t just about jobs, it’s about generations of Cajun and Creole culture being threatened by the impacts of disasters.”

Read the full story at WAFB

Rep. Huffman Completes First Stop of 2020 on Fisheries Listening Tour, Announces Miami Session

February 6, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA):

On Thursday, January 30, Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), Chair of the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee, traveled to the Gulf Coast region as part of his nationwide listening tour on federal fisheries policy. This was the first listening session of 2020 and the fifth session overall. The Gulf of Mexico fishery management region includes the federal waters off of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and the west coast of Florida.

Rep. Huffman also announced today that he will be hosting the next stop on his listening tour on Friday, February 14, 2020, in Miami, Florida, to discuss federal fisheries policy in the context of the South Atlantic fishery management region, which includes the federal waters off of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and east Florida to Key West.
 
These events are designed to engage diverse perspectives, interests, and needs of individuals who have a stake in the management of ocean and fisheries resources. During the listening session in New Orleans, Chairman Huffman heard from industry stakeholders, advocates, scientists, and members of the public, who gave feedback on the current state of fisheries management under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and what they hope to see in future federal fisheries policy. 
 
“Like the other places I’ve visited on this listening tour, fish and fishing are a way of life throughout the Gulf,” said Rep. Huffman. “The commercial and recreational fishing industries support tens of thousands of jobs and billions in sales annually. Communities all around the Gulf are deeply connected to healthy oceans and coasts, and it was extremely valuable to continue the conversation on fisheries management with these passionate local experts and stakeholders, including my colleague Rep. Garret Graves, who is an active and spirited participant in our debates on these issues in Washington, D.C. I heard a lot about the significant impacts of fishery disasters, data needs and successes, and how climate change is impacting the region in a very unique way.”
 
Miami Listening Session
WHO:             Congressman Jared Huffman, fisheries and oceans experts
WHAT:          Discussion on federal fisheries management focused on the South Atlantic region
WHEN:          Friday, February 14, 2020 @ 8:30-10:30 a.m. EST
WHERE:       Southeast Fisheries Science Center*
                        Seminar Room
                        75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida, 33149
RSVP:            Please click here to RSVP
 
Rep. Huffman’s goal for this listening tour is to assess whether improvements to the Magnuson-Stevens Act are needed and if so, what they should be. More information, a public comment page, and the full press release for this tour can be found here.
 
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (also referred to as the Magnuson-Stevens Act or MSA) is the primary law governing the management and conservation of commercial fisheries in federal waters. 
 
The MSA was last reauthorized and extensively amended in 2006 (P.L. 109-479). Although the authorization of appropriations expired at the end of Fiscal Year 2013, the law’s requirements remain in effect and Congress has continued to appropriate funds to administer the act.
 
Videos from the listening sessions can be accessed through Representative Huffman’s Facebook page here. Didn’t have a chance to provide feedback during the session? You can visit his website to submit a comment at any time.
 
*The Fisheries Science Center is a federal building. Foreign nationals must RSVP in advance to obtain clearance.

House subcommittee chair bringing ‘listening tour’ to New Orleans

January 23, 2020 — If you’ve got two cents and want to share your thoughts about fishing and federal fishing laws, then take time next Thursday, go to New Orleans, because Congressman Jared Huffman, D-California, will share his open-to-the-public “Fisheries Listening Tour” stage with Louisiana’s Garret Graves, R-Louisiana.

The tour runs 4:30-6:30 p.m. inside the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas at 1 Canal Street in the Crescent City.

Huffman is the chair of the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife, and this will be his fifth stop on what his staff calls a “nationwide listening tour on federal fisheries management designed to engage diverse perspectives, interests, and needs of individuals who have a stake in the management of federal ocean and fisheries resources.”

Read the full story at The Advocate

Rep. Huffman Announces New Orleans, Louisiana as Next Stop on Fisheries Listening Tour

January 14, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA):

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) Chair of the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, will be hosting the next stop on his listening tour, Thursday, January 30 at 4:30p.m. in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is the fifth stop on a nationwide listening tour on federal fisheries management designed to engage diverse perspectives, interests, and needs of individuals who have a stake in the management of federal ocean and fisheries resources. The event is free and open to the public and press.

Members of the press interested in attending should submit their RSVP to Mary Hurrell at mary.hurrell@mail.house.gov. 

WHO:            Congressman Jared Huffman, Congressman Garret Graves, fisheries and oceans experts

WHAT:          Discussion on federal fisheries management

WHEN:          Thursday, January 30, 2020 @ 4:30p.m. – 6:30p.m. CST

WHERE:       Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, 1 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Representative Huffman’s panel discussion with experts and stakeholders will include a detailed, technical examination of current and future challenges in federal fisheries management and will explore potential solutions. Guests will be able to ask questions during the roundtable and provide public comments at its conclusion.

The ideas Huffman receives from this listening tour, and from other stakeholder outreach that is already underway, will inform his introduction of a reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law governing fisheries management in U.S. federal waters.

More detail on Huffman’s listening tour, which was first announced in July, can be found here.