Today is the 1st Day of Louisiana Shrimp Season

Michelle Obama’s health initiative is clear evidence that regardless of where the seafood is from this is an administration that knows nutrition and the power of the pesce.

The Gulf seafood community continues to be happy with the regulatory response to the oil spill disaster and the Administration’s clear understanding that encouraging Americans to eat safe healthy Gulf seafood is a priority. Michelle Obama’s health initiative is clear evidence that regardless of where the seafood is from this is an administration that knows nutrition and the power of the pesce.

The fact is the Gulf has been through enough lately and suggestions by some that Gulf seafood isn’t safe has been met with a fork full of fish at the Obama’s own diner table and for that the Gulf seafood community is appreciative.

This week it wasn’t just the Saints who were invited to the White House to celebrate the Super Bowl and what everyone hopes will be a rebirth of the Gulf coast, a contingent representing the fisheries were there too. After serving up a 30 foot oyster and shrimp Po’ Boy folks like Mike Voisin (CEO of Motivatit Seafoods) spent the day meeting with regulators and White House advisors for whom he laid out one shrimp scenario that is not quite as bright as others.

Monday the 16th Louisiana is scheduled to open shrimp season and it’s not oil some of the folks who work the water are worried about this time, it’s prices. Slowly but surely we’ve been seeing shrimp prices trending down, perhaps heading back to normal. Prices are still up about 20%, but that’s down from high of nearly 40% back in late June. So the excitement over the impending shrimp season is, for some, tempered by a fear that the market will be hit with a literal boatload of fresh, safe, healthy shrimp from the Gulf and if misimpressions don’t change there won’t be a market for it. Concerns lie in a scenario where tons of the crunchy crustaceans will be harvested and a community will begin to rev back up and come alive again but the market won’t be ready. As once-decimated retail and restaurant stocks begin to fill back up prices could take a nose dive.

There’s little else, other than educate consumers about the health and safety of Gulf seafood, that the community can do.

From an interview with Gavin Gibbons, National Fisheries Institute (NFI).