Harlon Pearce of the Gulf Seafood Institute is interviewed outside of Texas Senator John Cornyn’s office by CNN on the state of Gulf seafood five-years after Deepwater Horizon. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor
The profile of the Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) rose to new heights during the first month of the New Year as media after media from called upon the group for expert insight into Gulf of Mexico seafood. From CNN to Lafayette Advertiser, journalists across the country are recognizing that GSI has the experts and insights they require to tell the varied stories of Gulf seafood.
While walking the Halls of Congress, CNN caught up with GSI and spent two hours with the group filming meetings and interviews. Photo: Ed Lallo/ Newsroom Ink
While walking the Halls of Congress, CNN caught up with the group at the office of Texas Senator John Cornyn and filmed during meetings with Mississippi Senators Cochran and Wicker. During the two hours with GSI, the crew filmed interviews on the state of Gulf seafood five years post Deepwater Horizion with GSI board chairman Harlon Pearce, owner of Harlon’s LA Fish, and board members Jim Gossen, chairman of Sysco Louisiana Seafood, and Chris Nelson, vice president of Alabama’s Bon Secour Fisheries.
“The Gulf Seafood Institute is honored to be recognized as one of the leading authorities on the Gulf of Mexico seafood communities and the seafood they produce,” said Pearce after an interview with CNN in the Hart Senate Office Building. “This organization will continue its commitment to the commercial and recreational fishermen that thrive off the seafood bounties of the Gulf of Mexico.”
After filming an interview for a featured segment with the same CNN crew inside the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Gossen said that the media is starting to pay attention to GSI because of the excellent work of Gulf Seafood News at keeping the media informed on issues important to Gulf seafood.
“We have successfully become the ‘Voice of the Gulf’,” he said. “No other organization has a communications tool that successfully reaches not only the media, but the wide variety of audiences that are interested in our organization.”
Local News Outlets
Before leaving for Capitol Hill and D.C. Mardi Gras Week, GSI executive director Margaret Henderson was interviewed by Jonathan Olivier of Houma (LA) Today on the upcoming trip. Henderson told the online media that she was bringing two main issues to policy makers that the institute is concerned about in the next few months.
The importance of the annual “Walk on the Hill” and D.C Mardi Gras Week to GSI, as well as other Gulf groups was the topic of an article by Kris Wartelle in the Lafayette (LA) Advertiser.
“We’ve got a lot of issues on our plate. But we’ve decided to focus on two issues that are very time sensitive. That is electronic data collection for the red snapper fishery in the Gulf and the second one is preservation of the H2B visa worker program, which is a program that’s sponsored by the Department of Labor that provides temporary foreign workers to seasonal businesses,” Henderson said in the article.
The importance of the annual “Walk on the Hill” and D.C Mardi Gras Week to GSI, as well as other Gulf groups was the topic of an article by Kris Wartelle in the Lafayette (LA) Advertiser. In the article, GSI’s public relations and editorial director Ed Lallo, explained the the immense value in being able to meet and greet the players in Washington.
“We have had a lot of success for the industry,” sad Lallo. “Last years group’s actions have turned into real legislation is the 2015 Omnibus Appropriations Act. Thanks to efforts by GSI members, the National Marine Fisheries Service budget now includes $2 million to improve electronic data collection in the Gulf recreational fishery.”
In a Baton Rouge Business Report article on how seafood fraud is damaging the domestic seafood industry, undercutting the value of Gulf seafood and potentially putting consumers at risk, GSI’s said the issue is perpetuated by consumer demand and a lack of knowledge about the product.
“Importing is creating markets for us that we didn’t have before,” Pearce explained to the magazine’s readers. “But the problem for a lot of us in the Gulf is that instead of trying to do better than the imports, we try to compete with them. So the key to the growth of our fishery is to get into more niche markets and to do a better job with quality so that we ask a better price for our product.”
The good news is that when it comes to developing solutions, Pearce believes the Gulf seafood industry is ahead of the curve.
Outside & Economist Magazines
In Pass Christian, MS, What Stands in a Storm author Kim Cross spill interviewed Mississippi’s Crystal Seas Seafood manager and GSI board member Jennifer Jenkins for Outside Magazine on the topic of the state of Gulf seafood on the fifth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
What Stands in a Storm author Kim Cross spill interviewed Mississippi’s Crystal Seas Seafood manager and GSI board member Jennifer Jenkins for Outside Magazine on the topic of the state of Gulf seafood on the fifth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Photo: Facebook
“This was a great opportunity to give Outside magazine readers a taste of what our amazing industry is doing to work together to restore itself, evolve and survive – That’s the compelling story,” explained Jenkins. “In addition I explained how the Gulf Seafood Institute is working with other Gulf groups on a solution to the oyster shortage Gulf-wide: the Gulf oyster mega hatcheries proposal.”
One of the largest reasons for the Gulf’s oyster shortage is fresh water, either lack of or too much. In an interview with the Economist’s Miranda Johnson, GSI’s Nelson addressed how the regional water disputes between Florida and Georgia has affected seafood in the Apalachicola Bay, especially the dwindling oyster harvest. “The lack of fresh water in the bay has definitely affected the historic oyster population and harvest,” he explained.
“There are a lot of important issues that will be affecting Gulf seafood in the upcoming year, especially at the national and Gulf Council levels,” said Henderson about her organizations commitment to continue to be the trusted voice for Gulf Seafood. “Our members are among the most knowledgeable and trusted spokesmen for the industry, and we will always be available for media inquires, be it the hometown news or international news agency.”
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