Harlon Pearce, owner of Harlon’s LA Fish in New Orleans and chair of the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition, says that Louisiana is unique because of its working waterfronts. “Working waterfronts are very important for this country to maintain. Without them we lose our seafood industry.” Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor
Hurricane Ida, and three others in two years, has thrown the Gulf seafood industry into turmoil. Add to that Covid, unprecedented fuel prices, new state and federal fishing regulations, inflation and a tight labor market; the result has been astronomical seafood costs for both the individual consumer and restaurants across the country.
“Restaurants are having a hard time putting oysters and other Gulf seafood on the menu because prices are so high,” said Harlon Pearce owner of Harlon’s LA Fish in New Orleans and chair of the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition. “What is sad is restaurants that would have never considered buying imported seafood, are now buying imports.”
“Restaurants are having a hard time putting oysters and other Gulf seafood on the menu because prices are so high,” said Pearce. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta, and Ida, made landfall in coastal Louisiana causing vital infrastructure losses of approximately $600 million to a region of national importance for domestic fisheries and seafood production. Since forming in December of year last, the coalition has been seeking ways to rebuild that infrastructure, as well as prevent losses from future storms.
“Infrastructure can be many things to different people. We have to rebuild docks that are buying product, and they have to be rebuilt better, stronger and higher,” explained Pearce. “That’s just part of the infrastructure we need. We need bridges that are better and stronger; in Lafitte they lost the only bridge connecting them to Barataria. Those are just two needs of a very long list.”
He would like to see infrastructure money used to stock a safe harbor warehouses with 20-30 generators, portable bait stations for the recreational industry, as well other needed supplies that can be disperse quickly so the seafood industry can recover quickly after a storm. A storm pushes in the fish that’s why the industry needs to recovers quickly, so fishermen are able to get out and harvest and have working docks and plants to land that harvest.
“Our state’s largest shrimp dock was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Ida,” he said. “On Grand Isle Dean Blanchard had trouble getting generators for power, palatable water, gas and other needed supplies. For months he was dead in the water. We need to have these supplies ready to be delivered after the next hurricane, and there will be a next hurricane.”
Another dock owner in Lafitte told the New Orleans fishmonger he was simply calling it quits. He told him, “Harlon at my age why should I go and borrow $200,000? I’ll never be able to pay it back. We just aren’t getting enough production for docks like mine to be able to pay back loans.”
Working Waterfront
Pearce says that Louisiana is unique because of its working waterfronts. “Working waterfronts are very important for this country to maintain. Without them we lose our seafood industry.”
The recovery coalition is currently working closely with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in their efforts to secure funds. Pearce is constantly on the phone with Washington and coalition members. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
Across the Gulf, as well as along both the eastern and western seaboards, what use to be working waterfronts are becoming high-rise apartments, hotels or condos. The coalition leader says, “This is not goods for the seafood industry. We have to maintain working waterfronts across the nation.”
The recovery coalition is currently working closely with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), LSU Ag Center and Louisiana Sea Grant in an effort to secure need recovery funds. Following Hurricane Ida, LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet instructed his staff to provide administrative and planning support to the coalition. LDWF hired the Washington, D.C. law firm Van Ness Feldman to help navigate the myriad of potential federal funding programs that could be tapped to help in recovery efforts. The law firm, which includes former Senator Mary Landrieu, is putting together a strategic plan to help guide the coalitions efforts.
“Former Senator Mary Landrieu will be looking for the pots of gold for us,” explained Pearce. “She and her team will help in formulating a strategy to go after both public and private disaster recovery funds. She will help find the right people to talk to in Washington so we can be efficient and effective in our efforts.”
Currently members of the coalition are in the process of zoom calls with Congressional members on both sides of the aisle. During the calls coalition members are distributing their recently released “White Paper”, as well as a list of important asks.
On Grand Isle Dean Blanchard’s shrimp dock had trouble getting generators for power, palatable water, gas and other needed supplies after Hurricane Ida. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
“We have tailored our asks to meet the requirements of each unique potential funding opportunity. An example is when approaching federal agencies holding available infrastructure monies, asks will be tailored toward specific infrastructure needs,” Pearce explained.
Pearce believes there are some great opportunities for recovery funding, however they are going to be completely different than those received after past storms. “ I don’t see finding free money for the fishermen. What I do see is finding replacement equipment for the fishermen and marinas, as well as fuel subsidies. These will be things that help keep them alive and able to work.”
Two of the top coalition asks will be a new crop insurance program for fishermen and safe harbors for boats and processing facilities.
A crop insurance program for seafood would help places like Courtney’s Oysters, the old Madison Seafood on Highway 55 near Montagut, which Hurricane Ida laid waste. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
Pearce believes that crop insurance should not be that hard to do, “once we get through to the bureaucracy in Washington. We have control of our fisheries. We know what comes in, who got paid for it. We know what didn’t come in because of the storms. Crop insurance doesn’t make you money, it just sort-of makes you whole again.”
The coalition is being proactive with the establishment of safe harbors for boats and processing facilities. “We can’t keep going back asking the federal government for money to rebuild the same things over and over and over again after every hurricane. It doesn’t make sense. Having these safe harbors will ensure we won’t have to do that.”
A Unified Voice
Pearce is also working with the National Seafood Council. He believes a national group like the Council can assist in getting things accomplished more quickly. He also believes that the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition should remain permanently in place as a more powerful voice to secure funds for the seafood industry as they become available during each legislative session.
Speaking in a unified voice is imperative if you want to get the attention of elected officials of all levels like Jennifer Van Vrancken Jefferson Parish Councilwoman. She attended a Lake Pontchartrain Fishermen meeting in New Orleans. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
“This coalition has members across every aspect of seafood in the state. If we had this coalition in place all the time, working with organizations like the National Seafood Council, it would be a powerful voice when searching for funds,” he told Gulf Seafood News. “This is perfect time to secure funding to make this happen. Once that happens and we would have a national arm and gain more respect, as well additional access to sell our products across the country.”
LDWF Assistant Secretary for Fisheries Patrick Banks agrees a unified seafood industry is positive thing. “I commend Harlon for starting the coalition effort and for bringing all sectors into the effort – private recreational fishermen, marinas, charter-for-hire operators, restaurants, bait suppliers and commercial seafood – to work together. We at LDWF are supporting the efforts of the coalition partly because it is serving as a unified voice for an industry that has been heavily impacted across all sectors,” he said.
Speaking in a unified voice is imperative for Pearce. He is convinced for years the seafood industry as been hell bent on pulling each other apart. “We have to stop thinking about our own little worlds. It is time to start to think about our world as a part the whole seafood industry picture, and that includes healthy commercial, charter and private recreational sectors. We have to figure out ways as a group we can protect everything. Without that we are not a seafood industry anymore, we are just not.”
He says this current seafood industry fissure is very visible at the Gulf Council, especially affecting grouper, king mackerel, redfish and red snapper.
Pearce says, “This wasn’t just another nail in the seafood industry coffin; it was multiple nails. We have to be proactive to make our future better so we don’t suffer this way again.” Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
“We are getting our butts kicked every time the Council meets. The different commercial seafood sectors keep getting killed and killed and killed. A lot of it comes because the makeup of the council is too one-sided. If we all come together we could strengthen our position on the council so as to achieve a more balanced council. If you get balance on the council you don’t get one group holding hostage to another.”
The hurricanes in recent years have caused a lot of pain for the state’s seafood industry, but an opportunity has opened for the industry to progress if it dares. If the Gulf seafood industry remains stagnant and unwilling to change, Pearce worries about not only its future, but also the future of restaurants dependent upon it catch.
“Fresh fish is what the New Orleans restaurant scene is all about. If a restaurants start drifting to imports we will be losing what New Orleans is all about, our fresh fish,” he said. “There is a certain price-point when any restaurant will drift to imported products. Take crabmeat. Right now our crab prices here are approaching record highs. Restaurants are starting to drift to imports to survive, even though they are also high in price.”
“This coalition has members across every aspect of seafood in the state. If we had this coalition in place all the tim it would be a powerful voice when searching for funds,” Pearce told Gulf Seafood News. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
Pearce says the problem facing Gulf restaurants, as well as those across the country, is availability and the price difference between local and imports. “Restaurants have to consider will there be enough local product and will their consumers pay for the higher price fish.”
Being proactive is the only way we can control our own destiny, he says.
“After Hurricane Katrina our toughest job was getting our seafood back into the market. We did a good job. Hurricane Ida has put us in a position that is worse than Katrina. This wasn’t a water event like Katrina; this was a windstorm that came right through the gut of Louisiana’s seafood industry. It destroyed Grand Isle and Lafitte, all those areas that are prime producing areas.”
He says the four storms over the past two years have taken the wind out of a lot of peoples sails. “Almost nine months after Ida some still have no place to live. This wasn’t just another nail in the seafood industry coffin; it was multiple nails. We have to be proactive to make our future better so we don’t suffer this way again.”
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