Louisiana
Seafood Industry Down, But Not Out
Posted:
9/20/05
Louisiana seafood
products making their way to the market now are safe –
despite disruptions and losses the industry suffered as the
result of Hurricane Katrina, according to experts at the LSU
AgCenter.
Oyster beds in
the Gulf of Mexico east of Terrebonne Parish are closed, but
shellfish, including oysters, harvested from other areas are
safe to eat, said Dr. Jon Bell, a seafood technology professor
in the LSU AgCenter.
Bell said the westernmost
portions of the Louisiana oyster beds were never closed and
that they produce about one-third of the state oyster harvest.
All other oyster-growing waters were closed as a precaution
until their safety can be verified.
The LSU AgCenter
expert said some growing areas west of Lafourche Parish already
have been assessed by state officials and found to be safe.
They have been reopened to harvest.
Bell also said
the tests of the waters and shellfish in these areas indicate
bacteria concentrations are below allowable levels and that
all chemical tests were negative.
The testing is
"part of the normal program for post-hurricane evaluations,"
he said.
In addition, Bell
said processing facilities that were affected by the hurricane
and resulting power losses must undergo strict sanitization
prior to handling products coming from the Gulf and that they
must continue processing under the Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points (HACCP) food safety system.
He said shrimp
processors in Dulac and Houma were able to recover from the
storm’s effects and resume shrimp processing within
a week. Facilities further west had no damage and continued
with processing operations supplied by shrimp vessels that
remained in the Gulf or were docked further west during the
hurricane.
"All seafood
exposed to floodwaters or spoilage due to lack of refrigeration
is unfit for human consumption and must be destroyed,"
Bell said. "Federal, state and local officials are visiting
seafood processing and storage facilities to determine if
remaining stored products are safe or not."
The LSU AgCenter
expert added that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
announced it is not aware that any seafood processed prior
to the hurricane and stored in the affected areas has entered
the commercial marketplace since the hurricane.
"Controls
are in place to ensure the safety of Louisiana’s seafood,"
said Dr. Sally Soileau, a nutrition and health agent with
LSU AgCenter in East Baton Rouge Parish. "Products reaching
consumers are produced under safe and approved processes regulated
by the state Department of Health and Hospitals and the FDA."
But while the seafood
coming to market is safe, many Louisiana producers in the
hurricane-affected areas are facing trying times, according
to industry observers.
LSU AgCenter economist
Dr. Kurt Guidry estimates fisheries losses at more than $151
million based on 2004 dockside values and assumed percentage
losses. In addition, he said infrastructure damage also is
likely.
In addition to
commercial fisheries, Guidry estimates more than $20 million
in losses to Louisiana’s charter fishing industry based
on the number of licensed guides in the state, estimated average
revenue per fishing trip per day and estimated number of loss
fishing days.
The Louisiana Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries reported 33 percent of the wholesale
and retail seafood dealers licensed in Louisiana, 35 percent
of the commercial fishermen, nearly 50 percent of the commercial
vessels and 63 percent of the charter vessels are based in
the parishes affected by Katrina.
Bell said, however,
that many processors west of the storm’s path have been
able to restore power, meet sanitization requirements and
begin processing seafood again.
Despite environmental
disruptions, fisheries will rebound, but the people who fish
may be another story, according to Dr. Rex Caffey, an economist
and director of the LSU AgCenter’s Center for Natural
Resource Economics and Policy.
"During the
past decade, 42 percent of the commercial fishermen in Louisiana
have gone out of business, mostly because of global competition"
Caffey said.
"Commercial
fishing is one of those labor-intensive industries that does
not compete well in a global market," he added. "The
rising cost of fuel and increasing environmental regulations
also are affecting the fishermen’s bottom line."
Caffey pointed
out that New Orleans is the major market for Gulf fisheries,
and the devastation in that city likely will hamper marketing
Louisiana seafood for some time.
"The industry
is not just harvesting. It includes docks, ice houses, transportation
infrastructure, value-added processing, wholesale businesses
and retail businesses," Caffey said.
"After Katrina,
we don’t know what will happen," Caffey said. "We
don’t know what the fishing industry will look like
after this storm."
Caffey said Louisiana
produces 20 percent to 25 percent of the total domestic seafood
in the lower 48 states and 75 percent of all seafood harvested
in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
To aid the fisheries
industry, the U.S. Department of Commerce has declared a "fishery
failure and fishery resource disaster declaration" for
the Gulf of Mexico.
Dr. Hamady Diop,
an economist with LSU Sea Grant, said this means the Secretary
of Commerce is authorized to request federal relief funds
for the affected Gulf States. He said these funds can be used
to assess effects of the disaster, restore fisheries and assist
affected fishing communities in recovering.
"The federal
share of the cost of the relief activity is 75 percent, and
the state will have to match the remaining 25 percent,"
Diop said. "Generally, the state participation is non-monetary."
Once funds are
appropriated, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
will provide information on how to apply for relief, Diop
said.
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