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April 3, 2009
Working Watermen’s group prepares to promote local seafood
By SUSAN WEST
The Dare County Commission for Working Watermen hopes to net strong
community support for a program promoting Dare County seafood.
“We bring in a premium product here in Dare County, but consumers
don’t always know where to find it,” said Wanchese
commercial fisherman Dewey Hemilright.
Hemilright and other members of the Commission for Working Watermen
participated Thursday evening in a videoconference with representatives
of Carteret Catch, a local seafood promotion program that could serve
as a model for a similar program in Dare County.
Displayed on storefront windows or menus, the Carteret Catch logo is a
quick way for consumers to identify businesses that sell local fish and
shellfish.
Research into the feasibility of a Carteret County seafood promotion
program began in 2004, and Carteret Catch incorporated two years later.
Consumer surveys show that demand for sustainable, locally-harvested
seafood is growing, and that more consumers are willing to pay a higher
price for local seafood.
“The demand is there. We have to make the connection with
the consumer,” said Pam Morris, president of the Carteret
non-profit.
The program is designed to create stronger consumer demand for local
seafood, and to increase revenue for fishermen, dealers, retailers, and
restaurants in Carteret County.
Morris said the program has resulted in increased traffic at participating retailers and restaurants in the county.
Barry Nash, seafood technology and marketing specialist with North
Carolina Sea Grant and an advisor to Carteret Catch, said the project
has served as the model for Queensland Catch in Australia and for
Brunswick Catch in southern North Carolina.
“If we’ve learned anything in the past five years,
it’s that it is very hard for small businesses to compete on
their own in a global market,” Nash said.
Commercial fishermen, dealers, retailers, and restaurants that offer at
least one local product are members of Carteret Catch. Associate
memberships are also available.
Morris and Nash said community and business partnerships have been essential to the success of the program.
Dare County Commissioner Mike Johnson, who chairs the Commission for
Working Watermen, hopes the strength of community support shown in
Carteret can be matched in Dare County.
The watermen’s commission hopes individuals with knowledge and
experience in areas such as marketing and advertising, tourism,
restaurant management, cooking, health and nutrition, marine biology,
and other fields, as well as commercial fishing and seafood wholesaling
and retailing, will help develop a local seafood promotion program in
Dare County.
Persons interested in working with the Commission for Working Watermen should call vice-chairman Jamie Reibel at 252-473-2901.
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