Rhode Island to launch year-long local seafood marketing campaign
According to the DEM, Rhode Island’s commercial fishery exports most of the seafood caught in the state, while most of the seafood consumed by Rhode Islanders is imported from out of state.
From: Tim Studebaker
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PROVIDENCE, RI (WLNE) – Starting in January, the State of Rhode Island hopes to encourage residents and visitors to seek out locally caught seafood to help grow the seafood industry in the state. They will do this through a year-long marketing campaign.
Bob Ballou of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management said, “What we want to try to do with this program is to promote the availability of this abundant, diverse and delicious supply of fresh seafood. to help stimulate the local market”.
The campaign will run throughout 2022, funded by $300,000 in federal grants. According to the DEM, commercial fishing in the state supports more than 4,000 jobs and harvests 80,000,000 pounds of seafood annually.
Ballou says: “…of which a large part is exported. Many markets for Rhode Island seafood are out of state, and much of the seafood consumed in Rhode Island is actually imported into Rhode Island. So there is a little upside down aspect to that.
DEM says keeping boating distances smaller, within state lines, would benefit the local commercial fishing industry, make fresher seafood available to the public, and reduce fishing. carbon footprint of industry.
Ballou says, “Our seafood supply chain is very similar to many supply chains for other products that depend on long, out-of-state transit and production. What we want to try to capture are the benefits of using local seafood in the local market. »
URI experts will track seafood sales in 2022 to see if the campaign has been effective.
Ballou says, “The most important people are those involved in Rhode Island’s commercial fishing and seafood industry. This is to support their interests and the interests of Rhode Islanders.
© WLNE-TV / ABC6 2021
