The U.S. state of Mississippi is preparing to launch a major USD 9 million (EUR 7.7 million) seafood marketing campaign this fall using some of the federal disaster funding it was allocated for the 2019 Bonnet Carré Spillway disaster.
“If you're serving domestic seafood as a majority of what you're serving, you're going to get some types of symbols to put in your office, in your buildings, in your restaurants, in your markets, whatever,” Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Director Joe Spraggins said at a 19 August Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources meeting. “Then, we're just pushing hard and we're going to advertise. We're going to have billboards up. When you come into Mississippi and any one of the major area tributaries coming in, it's going to say something about Mississippi seafood."
Spraggins said the marketing plan is being rolled out in coordination with Coastal Mississippi, Visit Mississippi, and state agencies.
At the 19 August meeting, Spraggins said part of the planned funding will require NOAA Fisheries’ permission to move approximately USD 2 million (EUR 1.7 million) it was allocated for the 2019 Bonnet Carré Spillway disaster over to the seafood marketing program. The disaster took place when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened up the spillway to alleviate flooding, directing a torrent of fresh water into coastal waters. The surge of fresh water shocked and killed shellfish and commercial species along the coast, resulting in a multi-year recovery effort.
“This is going to be a big thing if we get it done. We have some seed money to be able to get that done prior to NOAA approving the other, but the project that we're looking at is a USD 9 million, five-year project,” Spraggins said.
According to the director, the marketing push is an important part of the state’s efforts to support local fishers in the face of cheaper imported seafood.
“We need to take care of our fishermen. We need to make sure that they have a job to do and they are ... able to get a good market for it,” Spraggins said. “We want you to eat domestic. We want you to eat the good food and not eat the trash that's coming from other countries.”
