Tag Archives: Gulf Seafood industry
Something’s fishy: Florida State research cracks the case on shrimp swap scandal
Florida State University assistant professor Prashant Singh
When it comes to seafood, people want the real deal – not some fishy bait-and-switch. But in the billion-dollar shrimp industry, it turns out diners might not be getting what they paid for: Eateries offering imported shrimp disguised as locally caught delicacies. David Williams, founder of Houston-based food safety tech company SeaD Consulting, has spent years diving into the murky waters of seafood sourcing. His team’s research kept surfacing the same troubling question: Do consumers really know where their shrimp come from? “Why would you want to be lied to?” Williams said. After all, no one orders a plate of shrimp expecting a side of deception. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:39
What’s good for America?!!: Impact of Foreign Workers on American Jobs a Contentious Issue in US
The colossal impact of immigrant labor in the United States extends to Louisiana’s struggling fisheries. “I’ve been hiring workers from Mexico, Honduras and everywhere else for 20 years,” Dean Blanchard, president of Blanchard Seafood, Inc. George Barisich, a fisherman in the suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, draws a distinction between lawful and undocumented immigration. He voted twice for former President Donald Trump, who 
championed restrictive immigration policies. Even so, Barisich agrees with Blanchard that immigrants play a vital role in his industry. “During shrimping season, we need legal immigrants to work in those factories,” he said. “It’s hard work, it’s decent pay, and it’s stuff young Americans just don’t want to do anymore.” >click to read< 11:05
Maryland Governor Calls for more HB-2 Visas – Governor Larry Hogan urged federal officials to make more H-2B Nonimmigrant Temporary Worker Program visas available to help protect Maryland’s $355 million seafood industry and supply chain. >click to read<
In the Gulf – Seafood industry stable but struggling
Every year around this time, Kim Chauvin gets angry. The 2010 BP Oil Spill has damaged the success of the seafood companies Kim owns with her husband, David. “You try not to think about it because it can really get you worked up,” she said. The couple own Mariah Jade and David Chauvin seafood companies in Chauvin. Before the spill, business was great, and though they were relatively fortunate in the years following, the market has turned itself upside down. Read the rest here 08:34
