Fisheries summit and expo coming in March

Louisiana Fisheries Forward’s Fisheries Summit 2016, the fourth annual summit for Louisiana commercial fishermen and the seafood industry will held in Kenner this year at the Pontchartrain Center on Tuesday, March 1. Once again, hundreds of commercial fishermen, seafood dealers, processors and others from across the state will congregate to participate in the Gulf South’s premier commercial fishing and seafood industry event.

Last year’s event was well-received, with hundreds of people from across the Gulf Coast attending. So once again, due to popular demand, capacity’s been increased to be able to accommodate even more attendees! Also, this year’s summit will be conducted in an expo format, featuring an open trade show, demonstrations, and workshop-style talks and trainings.

The Fisheries Summit will provide participants the opportunity to learn about the latest updates, techniques, and programs concerning commercial fishing and seafood production. All this condensed into one full day of workshop talks, trainings, live demonstrations, and a full featured trade show.

The Summit will be more of an ‘expo’ this year, focusing more on hands-on demonstrations and trainings rather than presentations and talks. There will be a few key presentations delivered though, including: Fisheries management update, Economic state of the industry including imports/inspections/legislation, LDWF program updates, and a buyers panel (featuring panelists in the retail and direct sales industry) discussing ways to sell your catch.

Hands-on demonstrations and the trade show will include: Fisheries biology, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries; Water chill, brine & plate freezing systems, LFF Quality Trailer; Seafood packaging, Louisiana State University AgCenter Food Incubator; Crab shedding, Louisiana Sea Grant; Marine vessel stability, University of New Orleans; Nano ice machine, Louisiana Sea Grant; Turtle excluder devices, National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA; Black spot research, Louisiana Sea Grant; and … much, much, more!

Held concurrent to the presentations, trainings, and demonstrations, the trade show will feature organizations and vendors displaying various products and services of interest to those involved in commercial fishing and the seafood industry.

In addition to the talks, trade show, and demonstrations, this event will afford a great opportunity for those involved in the various fisheries and seafood industry sectors to be able to network with one another, make new business contacts, and expand horizons … All with a vision and purpose of increasing business efficiencies and profitability.

Advanced registration, though not required, is encouraged and can be completed by going to lafisheriesforward.org/summit. For questions, e-mail summit@lsu.edu.