Willie W. Bonvillain
November 20, 2013
Patterson still alive after hard-fought victory
November 27, 2013
Before Peter and James pulled their nets on the Sea of Galilee, fishermen have been vulnerable to peculiarities of the weather and whims of nature and its creatures.
Those challenges remain and always will.
But problems over the past few decades, ranging from tougher regulations to low prices due to cheap imports as well as the BP oil spill have created new challenges as well.
Fishermen and people who work closely with them say that in general, progress is being made in many ways toward more successful fisheries, though some problems will take longer to address than others.
The oil spill resulted in a shutdown of all Louisiana fisheries during 2010. The national market began rejecting Gulf seafood because of fears related to the spill. But the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board was credited with helping bolster the brand. The problems related to the spill – indirectly – resulted in an unexpected kind of progress.
“The seafood here has become the most thoroughly inspected and tested seafood there is,” said Danny Babin, a Terrebonne Parish councilman who is also a seafood processor and wholesaler.
Julie Falgout of Louisiana SeaGrant at LSU, says enhanced boat-board handling of seafood is opening more marketing doors.
She has been involved with classes for fishermen
A SeaGrant fisheries summit planned for June follows up a successful gathering last year of fishermen, regulators and dock owners. Ideas for better cooperation between all were discussed, as well as new tools to make fishing of shrimp, oysters, crabs and other species more profitable.
Falgout said she expects greater attendance this year.
“We get a pretty broad spectrum, and we have a chance to update the industry,” Falgout said. “Fishermen are getting more information, and we will be supplying more information on maintenance and repair of boats. We are sharing practical things fishermen can use in their businesses.”
Although processors were not present at last year’s summit, Falgout said SeaGrant is hoping they will participate this year.
“We would love for the processing industry to be part of it,” she said.
Processors say they are not doing so well, and that advances for some segments of the industry such as direct marketing for fishermen has made their work harder.
High prices at docks this year – a boon for fishermen – have resulted in more money being paid out by processors, and some are feeling the bite.
The higher prices are due to disease in southeast Asian shrimp ponds.
The prices won’t remain high, most fishermen said, expressing certainty that they will fall again.
A shrimp boat prepares to offload at a Terrebonne Parish dock. Despite setbacks, the Louisiana seafood industry continues to progress, with high prices at the docks this year providing a boon for fishermen.
