Saving Seafood

Guest-worker program helps Louisiana seafood facilities

February 8, 2016 — BATON ROUGE — Congress’ decision to quadruple the size of a guest-worker program might be described as a gift to Louisiana’s seafood processing industry, which struggles to fill the seasonal jobs each year.

The LSU AgCenter says about 60 Louisiana seafood processing facilities hire more than 2,000 guest workers each year to peel crawfish and shrimp, shuck oysters and filet fish. Most of the workers come from Mexico and Central America and work 60 hours a week for a few months.

In Louisiana, the top guest-worker jobs include landscaping, packers and packaging, forestry and conservation, construction, and production helpers.

Ben LeGrange, general manager of Atchafalaya Crawfish Processing in Henderson, said  the plant typically hires 50 or 60 guest workers a season, mainly women who peel crawfish.

According to the LSU AgCenter, about 60 Louisiana seafood processing facilities hire more than 2,000 guest workers each year to peel crawfish and shrimp, shuck oysters and filet fish. Most of the workers come from Mexico and Central America and work 60 hours a week for a few months.

The processing season may last from about March to June, where the crawfish season can run November to July, LeGrange said. The processing time varies from season to season, depending on what’s being produced by farmers and fishermen.

“You really have trouble finding local help because it’s erratic. It’s not a set, defined time period,” LeGrange said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Advertiser

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

 

Former congressman to head Louisiana fisheries

January 19, 2016 — Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which governs commercial and recreational fishing in the state, got a new boss in January. Charlie Melancon, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislator, was appointed to the job by the state’s new governor, John Bel Edwards.

Although much of his non-political work in the past has centered on the state’s sugar cane industry, Melancon said he is confident that other experience, including working closely with fishermen when in Congress, has prepared him well for this new challenge.

“My experience is in sitting down at the table and working through problems, that is what I have always brought,” Melancon said. “Whether it’s dating or a marriage or a political relationship, and that is what I have always brought, sitting down and compromising and finding common ground.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

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

 

Legislation Introduced to Reform Seasonal H-2B Guest-Worker Program

November 9, 2015 — Legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives to reform the H-2B seasonal guest-worker program. H.R. 3918, the Strengthen Employment and Seasonal Opportunities Now Act also known by its acronym the SEASON Act, will reform the guest-worker program used by American employers to hire foreign workers for temporary and seasonal work, such as forestry, seafood processing, and other industries.

Introduced by House Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot from Ohio, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, Congressman Andy Harris of Maryland, and Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD of Louisiana, the SEASON Act is designed to bring needed reforms to the H-2B program in order to protect American workers, help U.S. employers who play by the rules hire seasonal guest-workers, save taxpayer dollars, and ensure the H-2B program is truly a temporary, seasonal guest-worker program.

“New regulations for the H-2B visa program issued by the current Administration are increasing the red tape and creating higher costs for the small and seasonal businesses using the H-2B program,” said Gulf Seafood Institute member Frank Randol, owner of Randol’s Restaurant and a shellfish processor who depends on guest-worker labor. “Many of our Gulf seafood processing plants were unable to open in 2015 due to a lack of labor. The industry will struggle to survive if they have a second year without these workers. This legislation is desperately needed.”

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood Institute

 

Gulf Seafood Institute’s Newest Member Jennifer Young is International Seafood Safety Specialist

September 20, 2015 — Sitting on a beach enjoying the sunset on a remote Pacific island has been a perk enjoyed by Jennifer Young during her last seven years as a food safety specialist based in Hawaii, but as the Pacific’s waves gently broke against the shore she realized something was missing. But in her heart she realized she missed the bayous of Louisiana and the Gulf seafood she enjoyed.

Young, owner of Food Safety Solutions and the Gulf Seafood Institute’s newest member, is glad to be back home in Louisiana, as well as a new member an organization that she sees a loud and clear voice for Gulf seafood.

“I loved my time on the Island, but to be honest I missed the culture and the food of Louisiana, especially the seafood,” I was also starting to get frustrated by the direction of the industry and its limitations, such as the tug of war with annual catch limits and imposed longline fishery closures. While I still maintain an office in Hawaii staffed with experienced professionals, my heart finally led me back home to Louisiana.”

Originally from a small town south of Alexandria, she attended the University of Southwest Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and received her Bachelor of Business Administration of the American Intercontinental University founded in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Young is a registered Safe Quality Food (SQF) Consultant and has obtained certification in High Risk Food Sector Category 9 and 11, as well as 21 CFR Part 123 Seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).   She is also a National Environmental Health Association Registered Food Safety Trainer, and is accredited to develop Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) programs, as well as British Retail Consortium programs and Good Manufacturing Practices.

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood Institute

 

Groups in the Gulf Work Together on Conservation Efforts

September 11, 2015 — In 1987, the State of Louisiana passed a law prohibiting Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries agents from enforcing federal turtle-excluder device regulations in shrimp trawls. Louisiana was the only state in the country with that law. Although some Louisiana shrimpers followed the TED regulations, the state law prohibiting enforcement sent the wrong message and prevented Louisiana from protecting marine life in its state waters.

Read the full story and watch the video from SeaWeb

Conviction After US Shrimp Mislabelling Case

August 27, 2015 — A North Carolina seafood processor and wholesale distributor faces a felony conviction after Federal prosecutors exposed the company’s shrimp mislabelling scheme.

The prosecution also resulted in a $100,000 fine, forfeiture of more than 20,000 pounds of shrimp and three years’ probation.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina joined forces to investigate and prosecute Alphin Brothers Inc., in a case that saw the company admit to falsely labelling tens of thousands of pounds of shrimp.

“This case is an example of coordinated law enforcement, both state and federal, working together with the tools they already have to crack down on fish fraud,” said Lisa Weddig, Secretary of the Better Seafood Board (BSB.)

Read the full story at The Fish Site

 

La. Congressman: US Should Exempt Returning H-2B Seafood Workers from Annual Quota Cap

July 7, 2015 — LOUISIANA — The Departments of Labor and Homeland Security are out of touch with what makes the Louisiana economy tick. Traveling across our state and talking to small business owners, I keep hearing that despite what regulations may come down from Washington, in the real world businesses have to work with the hand they’re dealt.

Unfortunately, arbitrary, nontransparent and inflexible methods the Department of Homeland Security uses to manage statutory caps on legal seasonal labor supporting Louisiana workers are limiting businesses’ options to the breaking point.

Not long ago, I was speaking with Frank Randol, a leader in the Louisiana seafood industry from my hometown of Lafayette and owner of the iconic Randol’s Seafood Restaurant.  Frank relies on workers from other countries who come to America under the H-2B visa program, a temporary guest worker program that allows these workers to come to our country for a defined period of time to support and augment our workforce.  A recent study shows that for every H-2B visa issued, four American jobs are sustained.  Additionally, the Brookings Institution shows that Louisiana is one of the highest users of the H-2B visa program per capita in the country.

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

 

LOUISIANA: Bobby Jindal signs bill allowing enforcement of turtle-excluder provisions

July 1, 2015 — Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a bill Wednesday (July 1) repealing a 1987 state law that prohibited Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents from enforcing federal turtle-excluder device regulations.

The repeal legislation, which the Louisiana House approved last month 100-0, also was unanimously endorsed by the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force in April after environmental groups have long pushed for better enforcement of the use of such devices in shrimp trawls. Often referred to as TEDs, they create an opening in shrimp nets to allow trapped turtles to escape before they drown.

“Today is a monumental day for our shrimp industry and will show the world that Louisiana fishermen and processors have always been concerned with the successful management of our shrimp fishery,” Mark Abraham, the shrimp task force’s chairman, said in a statement.

Read the full story from The Times-Picayune