A comprehensive seafood supply chain study of Louisiana’s St. Mary, Iberia, and Vermilion Parishes highlights obstacles and opportunities for an area battered by an array of environmental disasters, economic losses and competition from imports. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor
With an economic impact more than $2.4 billion annually, Gulf seafood accounts for one out of every 70 jobs in the state. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
A comprehensive seafood supply chain study of Louisiana’s St. Mary, Iberia, and Vermilion Parishes highlights obstacles and opportunities for an area battered by an array of environmental disasters, economic losses and competition from imports. The study, funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business Development Grant, confirmed what the seafood industry in those parishes, as well as all along the entire Gulf coast, have speculated for years; without a unified voice and aligned economic development at all government levels, Gulf seafood is in trouble, big trouble.
With an economic impact more than $2.4 billion annually, Gulf seafood accounts for one out of every 70 jobs in the state. It is the foundation of the culture and economy of Louisiana, and drives economic development in those rural coastal parishes.
The next generation of workers in all aspects of seafood is need to replace an aging workforce. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
“Gulf seafood lies at the heart of the rich Acadiana culture,” said a study participant. “Natural and manmade disasters continue to threaten this unique region, which for more than three centuries has tied its fate to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The people bringing seafood onto the tables of homes and restaurants around the world lay at the heart of this rich culture.”
Six supply chain priorities needed to ensure the region’s future economic development were uncovered if the industry is to survive, grow and help maintain the area’s unique culture.
- Increase its ability to manage and recover from disasters
- Align with economic development initiatives at the local and state levels
- Modernize its distribution and logistic capabilities
- Innovate operations and introduce new products
- Distinguish the area products from cheap alternatives through marketing and branding
- Above all, new ways to attract and retain the next generation of workers able to replace an aging industry.
“Attracting the next generation of fishermen has to be the top priority of all the study findings,” said Gulf Seafood Foundation president Jim Gossen. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
The study included concrete recommendations for each of the six supply chain priorities, as well as potential projects that could not only solve a challenge but also pave the way for increased opportunity. The recommendations are designed to attract investment and spur economic development.
“The supply chain priorities the study uncovered every part of Coastal Acadiana’s seafood industry,” said Jim Gossen, president of the Gulf Seafood Foundation. “Attracting the next generation of fishermen and retaining a reliable H2B guest workforce has to be the top priority of all the study findings. Without fishermen, and the workers who process their catch, there is no seafood industry.”
Working closely with local, regional and state industry leaders in all aspects of the seafood supply chain, researches inventoried the three coastal parishes’ seafood supply chain assets. They then identified areas of strategic growth and community/industry needs with opportunities for support.
The project consisted of four key elements:
- Evaluating the seafood supply chain.
- Engaging with small and large-scale operators across the seafood industry.
- Coordinating with state and parish leader to identify recommendations to bolster resilient economic development.
- Developing strategies for seafood economic development in the region.
Impact Analysis for Planning(IMPLAN) and commercial fisheries data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the team created a visual map of the Coastal Acadiana seafood supply chain. Researchers also drew heavily upon field visits and expert testimony, as well as its long-term experience in the region’s seafood industry.
“The industry’s economic and cultural contributions warrant attention and prioritization as a key industry in Louisiana’s future strategic planning,” said Dr. Geoff Stewart of the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
“While the Coastal Acadiana seafood industry contributes over $484 million annually to the regional economy, its true impact is not fully appreciated and prioritized,” explained Dr. Geoff Stewart, Moody Company/BORSF Chair at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration, “This industry is also a significant contributor to the preservation of an indigenous culture and way of life that has literally shaped the image of Acadiana and Louisiana. The industry’s economic and cultural contributions warrant attention and prioritization as a key industry in Louisiana’s future strategic planning.”
The team concluded that the seafood industry needed a unified voice. The lack of a connection between the industry and economic development activities at local, state and federal levels have resulted in the seafood supply chain not operating at full capacity. The study also recommends the creation of a central point of contact within state government to help align the industry’s needs and strategies with the state’s broader economic development activities and programs.
At the height of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, sits on barriers keeping oil off the beaches. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
“After Hurricane Katrina, and again the BP Deepwater Horizon spill, we surveyed the seafood community across the state and found very similar results,” said Ewell Smith, former executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. “This important study confirms the issues and problems facing the Gulf seafood industry and sheds light on opportunities we have before us.”
Recently Smith, who sits on the Gulf Seafood Foundation board, has been working with chefs in the development of innovative, value added seafood products. “This is not a simple process,” he said. “The process needs to be streamlined to pool the resources of the universities, the government and the private sector together under one seafood economic development roof in order to encourage new entrepreneurs to invest in creative and innovative Louisiana seafood products. This is the future of our seafood. That’s our legacy for the next generation. Coming together as one voice is vital to accomplishing that goal.”
The study lays out a path where, if applied correctly, creativity and resources in these rural communities’ access to the Gulf of Mexico can be leveraged to yield new jobs and economic development. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
The parishes of St. Mary, Iberia, and Vermilion are experience major economic challenges, as well as higher than average poverty rates. The study lays out a path where, if applied correctly, creativity and resources in these rural communities’ access to the Gulf of Mexico can be leveraged to yield new jobs and economic development.
If Coastal Acadiana’s seafood industry efforts are to succeed, the study concluded it must first establish a unified voice to attract legislative and economic development support.
“I think the study’s findings are right on. The issues brought to light are the same for fishermen and the seafood industry Gulf-wide,” said Gossen. “The remaining unanswed question is ‘what happens next?’ It is time we come together with a unified voice that speaks toward the survival of our culture and our seafood heritage.”
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