SEAFOOD MARKET ON WEBPort Program Matches Fishermen with Customers |
Advocate Acadiana Bureau • May 13, 2010
Amid the threat of the growing oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, the Port of Delcambre has launched an Internet marketing program to better connect fishermen with their customers in an effort to revitalize the struggling fishing community.
The marketing program was in the works long before the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig and subsequent oil leak, but the disaster has added a sense of urgency when shrimp season opened this week in the coastal waters south of Delcambre.
The oil slick has already prompted federal and state officials to close commercial fishing along parts of the state’s eastern coast, and fishermen who work the remainder of the coast are concerned those closures could soon spread.
“We are trying to make a few dollars before they shut us down,” said Pam Trahan, reached by cell phone Wednesday while working with her husband, Allen, on the family’s shrimp boat.
They are among a group of 13 who have signed up for the Port of Delcambre’s new seafood marketing program that allows fishermen to link directly with customers over the Internet.
Customers can log on to the Port of Delcambre’s website to view fishermen profiles, get contact information and sign up for e-mail or telephone alerts when the boats are heading back to shore with their catch.
The alerts and website will offer detailed information about how many pounds of shrimp, crab, oysters or fish are on board, and customers can meet the fishermen at a new seafood “marketplace” at the South Pier along the Delcambre Canal, said Twin Parish Port Commission President Jeff LeBlanc.
LeBlanc said the market will also sell local crawfish.
He said the hope is that fishermen will have an easier time selling directly to customers, allowing them to keep more of the profits from their catch.
“If folks can make a living at it, we will see more people get back in the business,” he said.
LeBlanc said that with 13 fishermen participating, there is no lack of product at the port.
“We are looking at about 18,000 pounds of fresh shrimp per week that will be available for this program,” he said.
Fisherman John Young said he arrived back at the dock late Tuesday and went to the Delcambre public library on Wednesday to report his catch for the marketing website — 500 pounds of fresh shrimp.
“They’re a nice size, too,” he said.
Young said he is optimistic about the new marketing program.
“I believe it’s going to work when everybody finds out about it,” he said.
Trahan, who was still out on the water Wednesday, said she has received many more customer calls than usual since signing on for the new marketing program.
The seafood marketing program is one of several new initiatives in Delcambre that are paid for by a property tax approved last year to help revitalize the town.
Other plans include a new marina for recreational fishermen, the removal of abandoned and sunken boats from the Delcambre Canal, a new boat launch, and an expanded industrial park.
While plans move forward for revitalization at the port, there is lingering concern over possible damage from the growing oil slick in the Gulf.
St. Mary, Iberia and Vermilion parishes have crafted a coordinated contingency plan to protect the series of large bays along the coastline of central Louisiana — East Cote Blanch Bay, West Cote Blanche Bay and Vermilion Bay, said Vermilion Parish Police Jury President Wayne Touchet.
Touchet said that if the oil leak is plugged soon, those bays should not be threatened.
“I’m pretty confident we are going to be OK,” he said.
But he also worried about the leak continuing into hurricane season.
“Our biggest concern is hurricane season, and who knows what happens then,” Touchet said.
For information on the Delcambre port proposal, visit www.portofdelcambre.com.