While a vast amount of Gulf seafood is enjoyed on tables and restaurants across the country, the business in rural coastal areas is declining and largely taken for granted by regional economic development strategies. A new collaborative Louisiana economic development plan, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, seeks to position the Gulf seafood supply chain for future success by inventorying its assets, identifying areas of strategic growth, addressing barriers and aligning with diverse community needs.
The $250,000 grant entitled Community Economic Development in Rural Coastal Acadiana Parishes is a collaborative effort between the University of Louisiana Lafayette and the Meridian Institute. The focus is on on seafood in coastal Acadiana, a very rural region of the state experiencing population decline, high unemployment and the trauma of recent natural and manmade disasters.
While coastal Vermilion, Iberia, and St. Mary Parishes are known for their ports and docks, a thorough understanding of the region’s seafood supply chain assets and associated economic contribution is largely anecdotal…everyone knows where to buy fresh shrimp, but the region does not fully understand the reach of the industry or its potential to harness emerging trends such as aquaculture.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Gulf Seafood News
