Gulf States Collaborate to Promote Gulf Seafood
Ewell Smith, director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, calls for immediate action to aid the Gulf seafood and tourism industries.
“We are calling on the administration to buy some Gulf seafood,” said Mayor Sam Jones of Mobile, Alabama, at the launch of the Gulf Coast Economic Initiative: Ready 4 Takeoff Coalition (www.ready4takeoff.org).
Comprised of a broad cross-section of public, private, academic and non-profit leaders including the Louisiana Seafood and Promotion Board, the coalition is an action-driven, unified voice determined to make sure that the needs of the Gulf Coast are heard in Washington, D.C.
The coalition is not requesting substantial new government spending or the creation of new federal programs, but rather simply that the federal government invest in the Gulf Coast region and empower coastal states with the tools they need to harness existing federal projects that are available and would utilize regional resources.
“Looking at this through the eyes of the seafood board,” says Executive Director Ewell Smith, “there are two short term actions that could prevent long term agony in the industry by creating demand for Gulf seafood.”
The first is having the federal government leverage its buying power to ensure a viable market for the Gulf Coast seafood industry. The buying power of the federal government for the military, schools, and other bulk purchases could immediately consume the supply of seafood products available.
BP is being called upon to fully fund marketing campaigns for the Gulf Coast states to help the seafood and tourism industries.
“The Department of Defense is one of the biggest buyers of food in the world,” explains Smith. “We need them to commit to purchasing U.S. seafood, and Gulf of Mexico seafood in particular. We have to get demand up so that we can insure that this industry can continue to do what it does best: harvest quality and healthy food from the Gulf of Mexico and inland waterways.”
The second call to action is for BP to fully fund marketing campaigns for the Gulf Coast industries – tourism and seafood – whose reputations were destroyed by the epic oil spill.
“BP understands the importance of image,” says Smith. “They have spent millions of dollars into their own marketing campaign. We need them to invest that same amount of money, if not more, into the marketing of the Gulf Coast.”
The Gulf Coast Economic Initiative: Ready 4 Takeoff Coalition is a unified voice telling the administration and all Americans that the Gulf Coast region – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida- is not just open for business, it’s ready to establish itself as a leader in the 21st century global economy.
Category: News
