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December 18, 2005

A way you can help. . .

There are quite literally thousands upon thousands of ways you can help with recovery and rebuilding efforts in New Orleans and the Great Gulf Coast that were affected by Hurricane Katrina. You could simply donate cold-hard-cash to relief organizations, you could send care packages to victims still in hotels and shelters, you could even pack up the family SUV and head down to the region and lend a hand, BUT. . . I've got an easy one for you, and one you've probably not thought of. So here it is. . .

BUY SHRIMP!

Yes, that's right, buy shrimp. You see, just like the movie "Forrest Gump", the Hurricanes destroyed much of the Gulf Coast fishin', shrimpin' and crabbin' fleets and just like the movie, those commercial fishing boats that are left are pulling in shrimp hand over fist.

There's a problem though, people aren't buying.

Now I understand that in the immediate aftermath of the Hurricanes, prices skyrocketed as wholesalers rode out the supply shortages, many restaurants changed their shrimp sourcing from Gulf Coast suppliers to overseas suppliers to keep tasty prawns on menus and many consumers simply stopped buying.

Many facilities for processing and cold storage of seafood were destroyed during the Hurricanes, Mississippi's production and storage facilites were reduced by 50%, virtually all of New Orleans production and processing was lost (although it's coming back fast) and even Alabama had it's fleet reduced and facilities closed. Each affected state suffered losses in their fishing fleets as boats at their moorings were tossed (in some cases miles) inland.

All that's changed now as fleets and facilities come online, and now, there's a glut in the Gulf Coast shrimp and fish markets. The few processing plants that remained open are now silent, because cold storage has been maxed out and there's no place to send processed seafood (read: people aren't buying gulf seafood). Boats with full holds are forced to dump or hold up to half their catch because there's no where to safely offload and process seafood. So even with reduced capacity, demand and supply are still out of whack while Americans consume foreign seafood over Gulf Coast products.

Now far be it from me to discourage importation, exportation and global food markets, but if you want to lend support to the Gulf Region, an easy way to do it is simply to BUY MORE SHRIMP. Ask at your local grocery seafood counter "Where are you getting your shrimp from?" If they say Southeast Asia or someplace other than the Gulf Coast, ask if they have any from the Gulf, look for Gulf Coast processors in the frozen seafood section, or suggest that your local grocer source out some Gulf Coast providers for their fresh seafood. Prices are dropping rapidly as these producers try to recapture market-share and rebuild the Gulf Coast seafood industry.

With the Holiday Season upon us, we're all cooking for family and laying out the big spreads, so why not throw some Gulf Coast Shrimp in the mix and help out our Gulf Coast fisheries and shrimpers.

--Jason

PS I know that some of you may say that helping out the Louisiana shrimpers, crabbers and fishermen is not really "helping after Katrina", but rest assured, it does help. Putting this industry back to work helps the economic engine in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast roar back to life. While many land based industries are clogged with traffic snarls due to damaged roads, debris and the destruction of facilities, the bounty of the gulf remains right there. Fishmen literally harvest cash from the sea and that that cash gets pumped right into the Gulf Coast economies, provided someone buys it (that's us).

Supporting the fishermen (and women) also supports a large support industry and provides tax revenues that leverage out to buy goods and provide services throughout the region. Too often people think that the best way to help with recovery is to donate cash, and that's simply untrue, re-developing the industry is much more effective a way to help the region, and the only way to re-develop the industry is to buy their products. So when you're doing your holiday grocery shopping, pick up some Gulf Coast seafood (think shrimp) and while you're at it, thow a couple of bottles of Tabasco and some Community coffee (if you can find it) in your shopping cart and remember that you're doing your part to help the Gulf Coast recover.

-JC

Posted by JasonColeman at December 18, 2005 10:01 AM

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Posted by: Lenrose Fears at December 21, 2005 10:17 PM

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