United States Senator Lisa Murkowski for the State of Alaska and Natalie Webster, Director of Operations – American Albacore Fishing Association.

DRAFT bill 031711 (PDF)

Hello All:

This an attempt to update over 500 of you who have expressed interest in the efforts of the National Seafood Marketing Coalition (Coalition).  I have ?blind copied? everyone in order to respect people?s privacy.  If you would like to be removed from this distribution list, please reply with ?remove me? in the subject line.

Listed below are brief highlights of recent Coalition news.

1)     Coalition Members Meet at Boston Seafood Show: Approximately 80 members of the Coalition met in Boston and heard updates regarding its progress as well as the keynote address given by Mr. Eric Schwaab, NOAA Fisheries Administrator.  Schwaab told the Coalition that conservation measures have been implemented to end overfishing in all fisheries under Federal management.  Therefore, these fisheries are now “all sustainably managed” and that this was common ground for the Coalition and NOAA to work on in the future.  In regards to our marketing proposal, Schwaab agreed that after we draft an economic analysis of our proposal?s impact on American jobs, he would ask his agency?s experts to review it and give us their views, and that he thought the Administration would be interested in supporting our seafood marketing initiative if it increased American jobs.

2)     Draft Legislation on Congressional Stationary: We now have a copy of draft legislation written by Legislative Counsel.  This draft is based on the version from the Seattle Coalition meeting and includes changes agreed to by consensus at that time.  Attached is a copy for your discussion and further distribution.

3)     Senator Landrieu Requests Feedback from Gulf Region: Senator Landrieu (D-LA) sent out a copy of this draft legislation across the Gulf requesting constituent feedback after being asked by Senator Murkowski (R-AK) ??to be the lead Democratic sponsor of the legislation.?  This is a significant step forward and means that Members of Congress are actively working towards introduction of this legislation.  If you are in the Gulf region, please contact Wes Kungel (504-589-2427) in Senator Landrieu?s office and voice your support for the legislation.

4)     Easter Break  – Good Time to Meet with Members of Congress:  If you have not yet introduced this legislation to your Congressional Delegates, we encourage you to do so over Easter Break which is a good time to meet with them in their home states.  Request those at your meetings to contact Arne Fuglvog in Senator Murkowski?s office as he is the central contact for Congressional Staff on this potential legislation.  Please call either Bruce Schactler or Kevin Adams prior to your meetings, so you can receive updates on any recent developments that may help your efforts.  These meetings are critical now as we add names to a growing list of co-sponsors prior to introduction of the legislation.

5)     Editorial Endorsement by National Fisherman: Last week, the Coalition received an editorial endorsement on behalf of Jessica Hathaway, publisher and editor in chief of National Fisherman ? see link below.

http://www.seafoodsource.com/blogs.aspx?id=9845&blogid=4294991205&utm_source=NewsLinks&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=InformzNews

6)     Coalition Does Not Seek NOAA Funds: The following article by Laine Welch was featured in Seafood.com today (also see attached):

http://www.seafoodnews.com/Sub/NewsStory.aspx?StoryId=826373&TopicId=24768 .  The Coalition has been very clear that we are not seeking NOAA funds.  Without these Saltonstall-Kennedy (SK) funds for research and management, NOAA would have to get the funds from somewhere else (fishermen or states), or restrict fishing due to lack of stock assessment or management.  Any of these is a net looser for the industry.  The Coalition has been emphatic that the ?promotion and development of seafood products? was a good idea in 1954 (SK Act) and is needed even more now that we are dealing in a world market.  We have offered numerous alternative funding sources which are listed in the draft legislation.  We must maintain our consistent messaging about these funding options and send a positive message to Congress that we are aiming to increase the value of the US seafood industry and create new jobs and economic development.

7)     Coalition Solicits Contributions to Continue Initiative:  The Coalition has received approximately $400,000 to date to fund this initiative.  So far, we have made some large accomplishments.  In order to continue the forward momentum, we need to raise an additional $400,000-500,000 for the next two years.  We are working on filing documents to incorporate the National Seafood Marketing Coalition as a 501(c)6 non-profit organization this spring.  It is essential that others in the industry step forward financially to help continue this effort.  We?d like to say thanks to the following organizations who have contributed so far:

?       Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board

?       United Fishermen of Alaska

?       Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute

?       Ocean Beauty

?       Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers

8)     Serve the Gulf: http://www.servethegulf.com/ServeTheGulf-Release.pdf Alabama launches a new marketing campaign on the eve of the one year anniversary of the Gulf oil spill. This is a good example of why regional seafood marketing efforts are needed and the progress the Gulf is making towards a regional marketing approach.

9)     Visit Our E-library: For more information on the efforts of the National Seafood Marketing Coalition, visit our ?e-library?:  seafoodmarketingcoalition.ning.com

10)  Support Swells to Over 70 Organizations: The organizations listed below have joined the National Seafood Marketing Coalition as supporting members.

1)     Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers (AK, WA)

2)     Alaska Crab Coalition (AK, WA)

3)     Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AK, WA)

4)     Alaska Scallop Association (AK, WA)

5)     Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (AK)

6)     Alaska Shellfish Growers Association (AK)

7)     Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association (AK)

8)     Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries (CA)

9)     American Albacore Fishing Association (WA, OR, CA)

10)  American Shrimp Processors Association (TX, LA, MS, AL, FL)

11)  American Tuna, Inc. (WA, OR, CA)

12)  Bama Sea Products (FL)

13)  California Sea Urchin Commission (CA)

14)  Catfish Farmers of America (TX, LA, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC, NC, KY, TN, AR, MO)

15)  Catfish Institute  (LA, MS, AL, AR)

16)  Chesapeake Bay Commercial Fishermen?s Association (MD)

17)  Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association (MD)

18)  City and Borough of Wrangell (AK)

19)  City of Cordova (AK)

20)  City of Petersburg (AK)

21)  City of Unalaska/Dutch Harbor (AK)

22)  Coos Bay Trawlers? Association (OR)

23)  Copper River / Prince William Sound Marketing Association (AK)

24)  Cordova District Fishermen United (AK)

25)  Crab Boat Owners Association (CA)

26)  Dare County (NC)

27)  Downeast Lobsterman?s Association (ME)

28)  East Coast Shellfish Growers Association (ME, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL)

29)  Fishermen?s Marketing Association (CA, OR, WA)

30)  Florida Aquaculture Association (FL)

31)  Garden State Seafood Association (NJ)

32)  Georgia Shrimp Association (GA)

33)  Governor Sean Parnell (AK)

34)  Gulf & South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation, Inc. (TX, LA, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA)

35)  Hulls Seafood (FL)

36)  Juneau Chamber of Commerce (AK)

37)  Louisiana Crab Task Force (LA)

38)  Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board (LA)

39)  Louisiana Shrimp Task Force (LA)

40)  Maine Lobster Promotion Council (ME)

41)  Maine Lobstermen?s Association (ME)

42)  Maryland Department of Agriculture (MD)

43)  Maryland Seafood Marketing Advisory Committee (MD)

44)  Maryland Watermen?s Association (MD)

45)  Massachusetts Lobstermen?s Association, Inc. (MA)

46)  Mississippi Dept. of Marine Resources (MS)

47)  Oregon Albacore Commission (OR)

48)  Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission (OR)

49)  Oregon Trawl Commission (OR)

50)  Organized Fishermen of Florida (FL)

51)  Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen?s Associations (CA, OR, WA, AK)

52)  Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers? Association (CA, OR, WA, AK, HI)

53)  Petersburg Vessel Owners? Association (AK)

54)  San Diego Fishermen?s Working Group (CA)

55)  Seafood OREGON (OR)

56)  South Carolina Seafood Alliance (SC)

57)  Southeast Alaska Fishermen?s Alliance (AK)

58)  Southeast Conference (AK)

59)  Southeastern Fisheries Association, Inc. (TX, LA, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC, NC)

60)  Southern Shrimp Alliance, Inc. (TX, LA, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC, NC)

61)  St. Bernard Parish (LA)

62)  State of Alaska (AK)

63)  State of Florida – resolution in progress (FL)

64)  State of Maine (ME)

65)  Texas Shrimp Association (TX)

66)  United Catcher Boats (CA, OR, WA, AK)

67)  United Fishermen of Alaska (AK)

68)  Virginia Marine Products Board (VA)

69)  Washington Trollers? Association (WA)

70)  West Coast Seafood Processors Association (CA, OR, WA)

71)  Western Fishboat Owners Association (CA, OR, WA, AK, HI)

Bruce Schactler
Coalition Director
Cell:  907-738-6451
bschactler@ak.net

Kevin Adams
Government Relations
Cell:  907-830-0304
kgadams@gci.net

Julie Decker
Coalition Coordinator
Cell:  907-305-0586
juliedecker@gci.net

National Seafood Marketing Coalition
P.O. Box 2138
Wrangell, AK  99929
E-Library:  seafoodmarketingcoalition.ning.com

List of supporters and states 021611 (Download PDF)

Dear National Seafood Marketing Coalition & Interested Others,

National Governors Association: www.nga.org

The National Governors Association (NGA) will be holding its winter meeting in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26-28.

If you have had any interaction with your Governor regarding the National Seafood Marketing Coalition?s initiative, please let us know ASAP. We will work to have Governors who are aware of the effort communicate with each other during this event.

This is an excellent opportunity to educate the coastal Governors about the initiative to create a National Seafood Marketing Fund which will grow the value of U.S. produced seafood and increase American jobs in both the seafood industry and support industries.

The NGA meets quarterly which allows for an ongoing conversation between coastal Governors as this initiative continues to gain support.

FYI:  To date, we have 65 organizations supporting our efforts!  See attached list.

Bruce Schactler, Coalition Director
Kevin Adams, Government Relations
Julie Decker, Coalition Coordinator

NSMC Proposal to GSMFC 021411

The National Seafood Marketing Coalition submitted the attached proposal to the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission in response to its recent RFP.  In the proposal, we listed you all as references.

Basically, the proposal requests funds to continue the outreach efforts of the Coalition for the next 22 months and also contract out an economic study regarding the positive impact of a National Seafood Marketing Fund.

If you have the opportunity to support the Coalition?s proposal, we would appreciate your efforts to do so.  We have come a long way in 13 months, but we also have a long way to go in order to successfully implement this historic program that has the potential to substantially change the seafood industry in the United States.

Thanks for your support!

Julie Decker

P.O. Box 2138

Wrangell, AK  99929

Cell:  907-305-0586

Fax:  907-874-3110

juliedecker@gci.net

Got fish?

The food industry has long recognized the benefits of national marketing campaigns and the seafood sector has finally gotten on board with 50 organizations from 24 states forming the National Seafood Marketing Coalition…. Read more (Alaska Journal of Commerce)

The meat industry has its “Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner” promotion. Pork producers market their product as “the other white meat.” Now, the U.S. seafood industry is preparing to cast its own marketing net in a bid to reel in more consumers…. Read more (Associated Press)

View PDF (Google Docs)

By Steven Hedlund, SeafoodSource editor

07 January, 2011 – The movement to establish a national seafood marketing program in the United States to bolster consumer awareness, and potentially consumption, of domestic seafood took a step forward last month. Participants in the National Seafood Marketing Coalition agreed to set up five regional seafood marketing boards at a meeting in Seattle.

The five boards Western Pacific/Alaska, Pacific, Gulf/Caribbean, Northeast/Great Lakes and Southeast/Mid-Atlantic would manage and distribute funds within their respective regions through a grant process. That would allow the program to be controlled locally by organizations already marketing seafood. The program would include both wild and farmed seafood.

The establishment of the five boards and a National Seafood Marketing Fund (NSMF) hinges on yet-to-be-introduced legislation in Congress that would institute a long-term source of funding for the NSMF. Among the funding sources being explored include the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act of 1956.

We’d be happy to see this legislation on congressional stationary tomorrow, Bruce Schactler, the coalition’s director, told SeafoodSource on Friday.

Schactler said several lawmakers have voiced their support for such legislation, and 46 letters, including one from Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, have been sent to congressional leaders urging them to act on such legislation.

The program is also backed by numerous seafood-marketing groups, including Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, American Albacore Fishing Association, Maine Lobster Promotion Council, Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, Southern Shrimp Alliance and The Catfish Institute. Industry representatives from 24 states participated in last month?s meeting.

“We’re pretty happy with the broad support we’ve received nationwide,” said Schactler, who lives in Kodiak, Alaska.

Additionally, a steering committee is being created with three delegates from each of the five regions to work on the legislation and develop operational plans and a budget process.

Spearheaded by United Fishermen of Alaska, the effort to establish a national seafood marketing program has been in the works for several months.

“UFA is very pleased to see this coalition expand and prepare important legislation,” said UFA President Arni Thomson in a press release. “Attendees at the Seattle meeting demonstrated the will to cooperate and compromise. This synergy will allow them to forge ahead for the overall good of the U.S. fishing and seafood industries.”

The coalition’s next meeting is slated for the International Boston Seafood Show in March.

Attachment 1 – Press Release – NSMC 122010 (PDF)
Attachment 2 –  List of supporters and states 121410

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

This an attempt to reach those interested in the efforts of the National Seafood Marketing Coalition (Coalition).  I have ?blind copied? everyone in order to respect people?s privacy.  If you would like to be removed from this distribution list, please reply with ?remove me? in the subject line.

1) Coalition Meeting in Seattle: On Dec. 1-3, 2010, approximately 50 members of the National Seafood Marketing Coalition met in Seattle for a work session.  The first half-day was dedicated to presentations by the Alaska seafood industry regarding the structure and results of a 5-year pilot project on which the national concept is based.  Presenters were Duncan Fields, Bruce Schactler, Ray Riutta, Mark Palmer and Joe Bundrant.  Dick Gutting also gave an overview of draft legislation with emphasis on the following areas which needed further discussion by the Coalition:  funding options, disbursement proposal, establishing regional boards, regional board activities, and purposes to be achieved by the regional boards.  The second half-day was dedicated to discussions regarding regional needs and marketing efforts (past, current and future).  Ewell Smith gave a presentation regarding the LSPMB?s recent issues and efforts to address them.  The final half-day was dedicated to discussions regarding how to move the Coalition?s efforts forward in the near future and providing input on the specifics outlined in the draft legislation.

2) Steering Committee Forming: The Coalition is forming a Steering Committee with three representatives from each of the five regions.  The Steering Committee will continue to work on national legislation and to develop specific operational plans and a budget for moving forward.

3) Financial Commitment Received: As a result of the work outlined in the December meeting, the Coalition is looking to raise funds to continue its efforts over the next two years.  Last week, the Coalition received its first financial commitment since the meeting from the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers (ABSC).  This organization committed $22,500 toward the Coalition?s efforts, with the potential for additional funding if others in the industry also step forward.

4) Seafood.com Features the Coalition:  In yesterday?s issue of Seafood.com News, John Sackton featured the National Seafood Marketing Coalition and news from the Coalition?s press release (attached): http://www.seafoodnews.com/Sub/NewsStory.aspx?StoryId=798718&TopicId=21523 .  John also talked about this issue on his daily video and ended it with the statement, ?We think that if this national marketing group can get off the ground, and can get access to some funding, it could be a very beneficial way in which to promote seafood consumption in the U.S..?

5) Support Continues to Grow: To date, forty-eight (48) organizations have officially supported the Coalition and the list (attached) continues to grow every week.  We need your help to continue the outreach to the industry in every region of the country and to broaden the support beyond the base (e.g. to distributors, retailers, restaurant associations, Chambers of Commerce, communities and states).  Please contact us if there is any way we can assist you in these efforts.

Visit us on Facebook: For more information regarding this Coalition, please request to join our group, National Seafood Marketing Coalition, on Facebook.  Check out the Discussions, Events, Photos, and other information posted on the Wall, including a link to the latest version of the information packet.

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