Perhaps there’s something to the cliche “If you build it, they will come.”
We set out to build community in New Orleans around local seafood by launching a seafood farmer’s market featuring local fishermen and their catch. Rather than the usual format where one or two seafood producers or retailers pitch tents at farmers markets, we wanted the spotlight to be on seafood harvested and sold by people from the community.
The NOLA Community Seafood Marketplace held at the Broadside in New Orleans on March 21 did just that. More than 185 folks from around the city and beyond bought seafood and talked with fishermen from southern parishes about how they fish.
The Need
Louisiana is one of the seafood hubs of the United States. Its seafood producers brought over 880 million pounds of seafood to market in 2023 (the latest year for stats). This ranked second in the country among coastal states for domestic seafood production by volume. The bayou state ranked fourth in overall value of its seafood.
And yet, access to local seafood isn’t clear or easy. In fact, you’re more likely to find imported, farmed shrimp than Louisiana shrimp in many retail stores in the bayou state. Worse still, some retailers sell imported seafood and call it domestic, or even local. That lack of transparency, coupled with limited access and consumer purchases often driven by habit and price means Louisiana and domestic producers struggle to make enough money to stay in business.
Plus, seafood harvested domestically or in the state of Louisiana is healthier, safer, and far more delicious than the industrialized imported product.
Fortunately, several organizations have worked on a local, state, regional and national level to counter that narrative. For example, Shrimp Aid and the Louisiana Shrimp Festival have refocused attention on supporting Louisiana and Gulf shrimpers hard hit by a flood of cheap imported shrimp over the past several years. Meantime, several states, including Louisiana, have or are in the process of implementing mandatory labeling laws to force restaurants and retailers to label imported shrimp and other seafood.
Building community
The idea for the NOLA Community Seafood Marketplace was born of a need to bring more folks in the New Orleans area into the conversation about why they should care where their seafood comes from and why they should support local seafood producers. One inspiration was the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market where fisherfolk pull up to a pier in San Diego and sell directly to the public on Saturdays. The market has been growing since 2014, and fisherfolk have built relationships with local residents who stand in line every week during the season to buy local seafood.
A small team featuring Chef Dana Honn of Nikkei Izakaya (also cofounder of Shrimp Aid and the Louisiana Shrimp Festival), One Fish Operations Manager Mara Welton and Colles curated an event featuring five fishermen from different towns, a fish butchering demo and a cooking demo.
Seafood storytelling
We wrapped all of this in compelling storytelling from some of the fishermen, as well as shared cultural perspectives from Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes of Sunpie and the Sun Spots and Justin Solet of the United Houma Nation. We also heard from local meteorologist Carrigan Chauvin, whose father is a shrimper.
Sunpie talked about the importance of education around local food and how that education can help prevent the damage of generational trauma (health, psychology) from not feeding our families healthful local food. Justin discussed cultural preservation of Louisiana’s fishing communities at a time when those communities are needed most. Carrigan shared stories about growing up in a fishing family, adaptation to different circumstances, and her commitment to help get the word out about the Marketplace and the need to buy locally produced seafood.
Captain Charlie Robin described his lifelong commitment to harvesting local shrimp and other seafood to feed his community, despite the challenges of falling prices, increasing operational costs and the physical toll of commercial fishing. He said sharing his product and his story with folks in the community is part of what motivates him.
Other seafood vendors on hand included Anna Marie Seafood selling shrimp and finfish, Captain Dwayne Palmisano selling live blue claw and softshell crabs (the softshells sold out quickly), Chris “Hambone” Herrington who sold cajun boiled crawfish (to an enthusiastic crowd!) and Liem and Windy Tran, who served delicious fried shrimp, fried shrimp balls and a tasty seafood and egg concoction while also sharing stories of their Vietnamese fishing community.
Visitors also learned how different organizations such as Louisiana Food Policy Council, Audubon G.U.L.F. and Restore Mississippi Delta Foundation are working to restore and protect coastal ecosystems and local, cultural foodways.
Fishermen universally said they appreciated the opportunity to sell directly to the public, share stories and answer questions. They also said they look forward to participating in another marketplace. General feedback from attendees was equally enthusiastic. Certainly, 185 visitors is a good start.
We built the first community seafood marketplace. And folks in the community came to support local producers.
On to the next!
Thanks to all of the fishermen and partner organizations for showing up and creating the energy for a successful event. Thanks also to the Broadside for allowing us to host this event on site. Big thanks to Chef Dana Honn, of Nikkei Izakaya and Southern Food Foundation, who in his role as Chefs Community Series Local Organizer for New Orleans, did so much to make this event happen. Also big thanks to One Fish Foundation Operations Manager Mara Welton for much of the logistics and organizational support to ensure we nailed the details.
Top photo: Encouraging folks to buy local seafood often means teaching them how to cut a whole fish and prepare it. Here, Chef Dana Honn demonstrates how to fillet a sheepshead. He then shared a simple, flavorful recipe for sheepshead ceviche.
