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The commercial fishing industry is seen as one in which old ways and traditions die hard, and new ones are difficult to take hold.
But at a three-day summit for fishermen hosted by the LSU AgCenter/Louisiana Sea Grant program, some old – and young – seadogs learned new tricks, not only from the scientists and industry experts who came to address them, but from other fishermen already employing new techniques and technology.
More than 200 fishermen attended the Summit for the Commercial Fishing Industry held at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center last week, culminating in a Dulac “dock day” where the focus was on new ways of freezing shrimp. The purpose behind that, participants said, is to increase freshness, allow longer fishing trips and to better mesh with new marketing programs stressing the unique aspects of Louisiana shrimp in an increasingly competitive global market.
“I think it will be good if I can afford it,” said Ran Tran, owner of the 72-foot trawler Ocean City, upon viewing the on-board freezing methods demonstrated by SeaGrant advisers at the David Chauvin Seafood dock.
The theme of this year’s summit was “Towards professionalizing the Louisiana commercial fishing industry, ” and topics during the meeting portions included economic status of the area’s fisheries, an update on pending legislation affecting fishermen, updates on blue crab research and new direction in seafood production and marketing. Sessions were also held on social networking tools to help fishermen direct-sell their products, and how state resources will be used in the future to coordinate postings with individual boats and docks.
“It’s all about seeing our fisheries survive economically,” said Anne Dugas, a communications specialist who is developing social networking tools for fishermen.
At the dock on Friday, fishermen crowded around an ice chest of shrimp being chilled in a solution that quick-freezes them using a solution that does not add weight to the catch.
Most of the boats that ply local waterways still freeze using ice. That will be a continued option, especially for smaller vessels, but the newer technology is needed in the newer marketplace, specialists said.
SeaGrant coordinator Julie Falgout said she was pleased by the turnout.
“It’s heartening to see this many people coming out to learn new techniques,” she said.
Although programs have not yet been put in place to pay for upgrades in most cases, Falgout and other leaders at the conference said plans are under development for low-cost loans and other means of aiding fishermen to make the dream a reality.
Barry Rogers of Houma is already using new freezing technology on his trawler, Oasis. But information at the summit on how to determine the amount of salt in the freezing solution mixture, crucial for proper applications, was worth the time spent.
“Information on how to verify salinity in the tank was helpful,” said Rogers. “We used to fill up our brine tanks and put salt in it and never know what percentage we had. We did a good job but to do it 100 percent scientifically correct it’s important.”
Shrimper Barry Rogers of Houma discusses freezing techniques with shrimper Tuone Cao of Cut Off during SeaGrant dock day Friday in Dulac. Fishermen learned new methods at a three-day summit this week.
