Cold-storage facility plans unveiled

A 25,000-square-foot cold storage facility for use by the local seafood industry is being proposed on parish-owned land in northern Terrebonne Parish, according to the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority.

The facility would also contain a smaller kitchen area, which would be used for seafood processing.

To construct the building, TEDA is applying for grant money from the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the state agency established to distribute federal recovery funds to areas of Louisiana damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The LRA is funneling $19 million to the Louisiana seafood industry through the Fisheries Infrastructure and Assistance Program.

“We would like to get full funding from the fisheries infrastructure program,” said TEDA Business Retention and Expansion Director Katherine Gilbert.

“It’s a competitive project,” she said. “It will be graded and judged. We’re hoping for some funding. We will look to other sources to bring the project to fruition (if needed).”

The effort is still in the early stages. The parish has only identified property to be used for the project. No land has been dedicated.

Discussion about a local cold storage facility for area fishermen and shrimpers has been going on around two years, Gilbert said.

The nearest cold storage buildings are in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The New Orleans location was damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

“It’s far for locals to travel,” she said. “They don’t want their products to heat up.”

Gilbert said by using cold storage, fishermen could build supplies for leaner times of the year.

The kitchen processing area at the proposed facility would be valuable to the local seafood industry, she said.

“The opportunity exists for folks to butterfly, bread and cook seafood-to enhance the value,” she said. “They’re not selling a raw product. They’ll do some processing and get a higher price for the product. It will help fishermen add value to their catch.”

Local fishermen and shrimpers could lease the facility for a day, processing their catch in the kitchen area.

After storage in the refrigeration unit, the value-added seafood could then be sold.

The effort to construct a cold storage/kitchen processing facility in the parish began in 2002, when the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce, South Central Industrial Association and parish government produced the document “A Strategic Plan for Economic Development.”

The paper called for the vertical integration of the parish seafood industry, combining the separate parts involved with seafood processing into larger units.

The Lake Charles-based processor Gulf Island Shrimp and Seafood, which operates a plant in Dulac, approached TEDA two years ago about the need for the cold storage facility.

Gulf Island plans to commit $500,000 to building the structure. The company has already contracted for preliminary drawings.

“They will benefit from the facility,” Gilbert said. “But they didn’t want a facility that would just meet their needs. They’re leaving it open to those who need cold storage.”

Mariah Jade Shrimp Co. in Chauvin has been key to helping develop the kitchen processing area, she said.

“The two projects come together well,” Gilbert said. “Since the cold storage is bigger, we could slip in a kitchen processing facility. It melded nicely.”

TEDA has been working with both Gulf Island and Mariah Jade on the grant proposal.

So far, the two companies are the only ones who have committed to the project.

“We’re open to suggestions, looking for partners,” Gilbert said.

Along with the LRA, the state Office of Community Development, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and Louisiana Economic Development will review TEDA’s application.