Tag: NOAA
Since 2020 COVID-19 has significantly impacted the entire U.S seafood industry. In the Gulf of Mexico oyster, shrimp and finfish fishermen were just a few of the hardest hit. In Maine, the lobster fishery suffered a similar fate. It is important to realize Gulf fishermen are not alone in their struggles to recover.
Coastal Louisiana’s historic connection to the Pacific Rim endures is enshrined in a new book by Carl A. Brasseaux and Donald W. Davis – ASIAN-CAJUN FUSION: SHRIMP FROM THE BAY TO THE BAYOU. The book illustrates the history of the Asian influence on Louisiana’s shrimping industry.
A recently released report detailing infrastructure, revenue and resource loss to Louisiana Fisheries have prompted a Louisiana Congressmen to ask the Department of Commerce (DOC) to expedite a Fishery Disaster Determination due to major damage related to impacts of Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta and especially Ida.
Louisiana Sea Grant and LSU AgCenter have partnered with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to compile an economic assessment of fisheries infrastructure damage from hurricanes that have devastated one of the State’s largest industries during the past two years.
For almost two hours Louisiana’s seafood leaders from all sectors of the industry gathered via zoom, mobile phones at restaurants or in cars, and in a conference room in Baton Rouge to discuss the damage of Hurricane Ida’s wrath on the State’s seafood industry. The consensus; the hurricane laid a path of destruction that has crippled almost every sector.
A recent executive order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth potentially broadens markets for the Gulf seafood industry, as well as stirred controversy within the its seafood community.
BREAKING NEWS: Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards Joins Call for Seafood Disaster (via Washington Post)
Heeding the call of a seafood coalition led by the Gulf Seafood Foundation, Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United and Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is the first Gulf governor to petition the federal government to declare a Gulf fisheries disaster. Flood waters from the upper Mississippi River tributaries continue to gush into delicate saltwater estuaries vital to the lifespan of a wide variety of Gulf seafood and the livelihood of fishermen and seafood processors.
GULF SEAFOOD FOUNATION/GULF SEAFOOD INSTITUTE – Billy Nungesser, Lt. Governor of Louisiana, who sees a huge need and opportunity for his state to become an aquaculture leader in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the world.
Across the Gulf of Mexico, commercial fishing resulted in excess of 146,000 jobs, which captured more than $21.5 billion in seafood sales. Additionally, jobs related to the recreational sector exceeded 107,000 across the Gulf, representing 19.7 million individual trips and $12 billion in direct commerce.
Hatchery concept receives top award at 2017 Innovation Awards
PENSACOLA BAY, FL — A failing oyster industry in Florida and millions of oyster lovers across the country stand to benefit from a recent business competition in which $100,000 was invested in a newly forming hatchery in downtown Pensacola.
Forty years have passed since Congress first passed sweeping legislation that changed the landscape of the American seafood industry from Bristol Bay to Beaumont to Boston. In 1976, the Fishery Conservation and Management Act was the first legislation establishing a comprehensive framework for governing marine fisheries.
The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship under the chair of Louisiana Senator David Vitter, recently held hearings on “The Impacts of Federal Fisheries Management on Small Businesses”. In a letter, the Gulf Seafood Institute urged committee members to keep in mind the myriad benefits this landmark legislation has had on Gulf coast fisheries.
Fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico, be they commercial, charter-for-hire or recreational, all agree on one fact: the growing need for more timely and accurate data for fishery management and science. Recognizing the need for more timely data collection, the NOAA has developed an implementation plan to expand the use of both electronic monitoring and electronic reporting.
The Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act heading to the White House for a Presidential signature includes $10 million for Gulf of Mexico fisheries data collection, stock assessments and research due to the tireless efforts led by Alabama’s Senator Richard Shelby and Florida’s Representative David Jolly.
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker has appointed Gulf Seafood Institute’s President Harlon Pearce, along with three other new advisors, to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee.
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