It is informed that the seafood available at Today’s Ketch in Chalmette comes in from the Gulf, off the truck and right into the waiting hands of customers. This not only boosts the demand but also create awareness of the native place of products. It is said that as of now, there is no guarantee that seafood sold in Louisiana is actually from Louisiana.
As the imports from Asia rising in the state there is a new effort to create a certified seafood program that would guarantee some of the seafood sold here is caught here. Harlon Pearce, with the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, opined that the restaurateurs and the general public would be assured traceability, where it came from, be assured that it’s inspected to certain quality levels.
Pearce told that the program wouldn’t just focus on quality control, but instead, would create a branding of local seafood– be it Louisiana shrimp, crawfish or crab. But such program does not come cheap Alaska spends about $20 million on their program, which has branded their Alaskan crab. It is said that the certification would also mean consumers might have to pay more for local seafood, which is usually more expensive than imports.
