Alabama oyster fishermen. Photo: David Rainer
David Rainer
by David Rainer, Outdoor Alabama Weekly /Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Eat Alabama Seafood, a campaign by the Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission, combines the expertise of fisheries managers, the seafood industry, public relations personnel and the food service industry to expand the outreach about Alabama seafood.
While Alabama’s seafood production is massive, until recent years the marketing effort hadn’t been on par with other Gulf States.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley formed the Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission (ASMC), after the Deepwater Horizon incident, to overcome negative perception and spread the word about the quality of Alabama seafood. He also established the Alabama Seafood Testing Commission comprised of the Alabama Department of Public Health, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Marine Resources Division, to send monthly seafood samples through a screening and chemical analysis to ensure safety.
Alabama shrimper Doug Plash. Photo: David Rainer
“I think we’ve been very successful in getting that brand out there,” said Chris Blankenship, Director of the Alabama Marine Resources Division and ASMC Chairman. “More people are asking at the restaurants and seafood retailers about where the seafood comes from. I think we’ve done an excellent job of increasing the awareness of people, getting people to ask where the seafood comes from.”
Retailers and restaurants are working with the processors and fishermen in Alabama to place their products in stores and restaurants.
We’ve had some good success with restaurants like Baumhower’s, Wintzell’s and the Original Oyster House and other smaller restaurants that are using more Alabama products,” said Blankenship.
Guy Lott, a chef and food industry insider, was put in place by the commission to open avenues for wider distribution of Alabama seafood.
“We have a sales person on board who is meeting with the restaurants, grocery chains and distributors, like Sysco and U.S. Foods, to get them to carry more Alabama products,” Blankenship went on to explain. “It all works together. You have restaurants asking for Alabama seafood, but they get most of their food through distributors. So the products have to be in the distribution chain to get it to the restaurants.”
Wintzell’s, the legendary oyster house originating in downtown Mobile, welcomed the exposure.
“There’s never been a group like this in Alabama,” said Buffy Donlon of Wintzell’s, who is trying to expand the restaurant’s reach outside of the Gulf Coast. “The one in Louisiana has been around at least 25 years. I think the commission and marketing effort have done a great job of getting people over the oil spill. That’s the very most important thing they have done for the restaurant industry. It’s been at least 18 months since any of our restaurants has had anyone ask about the safety of seafood.”
“The direction of the marketing of the seafood is outside Alabama,” explained Donlon. “We have people who travel the I-65 corridor, all the way from the Great Lakes through Kentucky and Tennessee, and vacation at our beaches. Now we have a way to market our seafood in those areas and that will be the key to boosting the seafood production for our state. It’s not like we need to market our seafood to Mississippi or Texas or any of the Gulf States; we’re marketing to those people who come to Alabama to spend their tourism dollars.”
“One effort of the commission is to promote the use of underutilized fish species to give consumers more options in restaurants and seafood markets”, according to Blankenship.
“We are really working to get retailers and restaurants to offer some of the fish like Spanish mackerel and sheepshead, something readily available and delicious but you don’t see on menus often,” he said.
Chris Nelson of Bon Secour Fisheries, and a member of the Gulf Seafood Institute Board, feels the marketing commission allows Alabama to coordinate with other Gulf seafood marketing groups and expand promotional efforts. Photo: John David Mercer/Coastal Alabama
Chris Nelson of Bon Secour Fisheries, and a member of the Gulf Seafood Institute Board, feels the marketing commission allows Alabama to coordinate with other Gulf seafood marketing groups and expand promotional efforts. It also gives processors an opportunity to expand their range of products.
“For Bon Secour Fisheries, if we’re already going to a market with oysters, we want to look for opportunities to put shrimp with the order and ship it on the same truck,” Nelson said. “For instance, we’ve sold Bon Secour oysters and Point aux Pines oysters to Whole Foods. If we sell them shrimp, that helps the Alabama seafood industry in general.”
According to Nelson challenges are now moving to the supply side, especially in increased production. In Alabama, as well as across the Gulf, oyster production is at all-time low, and certain size shrimp are in short supply.
The Organized Seafood Association of Alabama had some success with its Wild Alabama Shrimp and Wild Alabama Seafood marketing, but organization didn’t have the funds to expand its efforts.
“Organized Seafood has done some good work with the limited funds over the last eight years, but we felt we needed a group that had funding to do more,” explained Nelson. “I believe we have created a brand with Eat Alabama Seafood.”
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