This document provides information about a case study of the Delcambre Direct Seafood (DDS) program in Delcambre, Louisiana. The DDS program allows local fishermen to sell their catch directly to consumers at a weekly farmers market. The summary includes: 1) The case study examines how political, economic, and fisheries institutions support or create barriers for the DDS program and explores what capital is needed for fishermen to adopt direct marketing. 2) Interviews with DDS fishermen found they are gaining customers but losing some to processors, and prices are higher when selling directly. Non-DDS fishermen and some community members had little knowledge of the program. 3) Preliminary

1. FROM
BOAT-TO-FORK:
LESSONS LEARNED FROM
MARKET-BASED
ADAPTATION IN
DELCAMBRE, LA
Rural Sociological Society
New Orleans, La
August 3, 2014
Candace K. May
Assistant Professor of Sociology

2. Boat-to-Fork: Direct Seafood Marketing

3. Questions
1. How do state, regional, and local political, economic,
and fisheries institutions foster, support , oppose, or
create barriers for local market-based adaptation
strategies among fisheries?
2. What forms of local and individual political, social,
and economic, built, and natural capital are necessary
for adoption of the boat-to-fork program?
3. What are broader social consequences of the boat-to-
fork program – for traditional marketing mechanisms,
such as roadside peddling and fish houses; fisheries
infrastructure, such as seafood processors; local
businesses and community members; or, expansion of
direct marketing to additional local
products/agricultural goods?

4. Case Study Design
• Review of Documents &Existing Statistics
• Field Work
– Observations
• Seafood & Farmers’ Markets
• Public Meetings
• Town and Environment
– Interviews
• DDS fisherpeople (fishers, dealers, and processors)
• Non-DDS Fisherpeople
• Non-fisher community members
• Representatives from Twin Parish Port, Steering Committee,
LSU Ag Center & Sea Grant, and Daily Operations Staff
– Purposive Sampling and Chain Referral

5. Delcambre, La
• Population Size
– 1,866 (2010)
– 2,127 (2000)
• Demographics
– 51.6% Female
– 35.2 Median Age
– 80.9% White
– 16% Black
– 4.7 % Hispanic/Latino
– 0.9 % Asian
– 0.6% Native American
– $36,667 Household Median
• $41,734 (La)
• $52,762 (US)
• Economy
– Agriculture, Fishing, Seafood
Processing, and Oil and Gas
Services
• Seafood – 150 US Ports
– 2004
• 35th in Value
• 49th in Lbs of Seafood
– 2012
• No longer listed as a significant
commercial fishing port
• Location
– Central Coastal
– Overlaps Iberia & Vermillion
Parishes
– Delcambre Canal/Bayou Carlin
offers direct access to the Gulf

6. Delcambre

7. 0.8 square miles
Base Flood Elevation
– 11ft

8. Hurricane Rita, 2005

9. Recovery from Rita: Elevation

10. Hurricane Ike, 2008

11. Deepwater Horizon, 2010

12. Hurricane Isaac, 2012

13. 102
$146
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
Millions
La Shrimp, Pounds & Value
10,670
$4,500
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
Millions Shrimp Imports, Pounds & Value • 90% of seafood;
50% is farmed;
30% is shrimp (by
value)
• 90% of shrimp
consumed in in
the US is farmed
over seas
• 25% of US Seafood
• 2nd, behind Alaska
• 42% of shrimp

14. Nominal and Adjusted $/Lb
$1.41
$1.44
$0.98
$0.42
$0.47
$0.29
$0.00
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
$3.00
$3.50
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
La Nominal
La Adjused,
1996
Imported
Nominal
Imported
Adjusted, 1996

15. Fewer but Larger Firms?

16. Delcambre, “A town to smart to die”
• 2006, After Katrina/Rita
• Town/Port Steering
Committee
– 2 Lawyers
– 2 Business-persons
– 1 Engineer
– Executive Director of Non-
Profit
– Council-person
• Informal Networks
– Childhood Friends, Church,
School, Social Functions
• LSU Ag Center/Sea Grant
• Tasks
– Identify Projects for Long-
terms Econ Development
– Build Recreational
Community
– Grants/Financing
– Identify legal Issues
– Seek University Assistance
– Public Involvement &
Media
• Monthly Meetings
– Delcambre Mayor,
Vermillion Parish Police
Jury, Iberia Parish Council,
Twin Parish Port
Commission

17. • New Recreational
Boat Launch w/
Expanded Parking
• Additional
Piers/Docking for
Fishers
• Seafood Market
Pavilion
• Fishing & Observation
Pier
• Marina w/ Long Term
Recreational Storage,
Dockside Facilities, &
Parking

18. The Port of Delcambre once had more than 100 shrimp boats in its fleet. Today, there are fewer than 30. The
Delcambre Direct program is helping revitalize the fishing community (Coastal Clips 2011, No. 22).

21. New Pavilion

22. Branding

23. La Direct Seafood

25. Preliminary Findings: Interviews
• Steering Committee/Sea Grant (4/3-8)
– Difficulties getting fishers involved
• Demand is greater than supply
– Initial (?) push back from processors and dealers
• Vietnamese processor processes Vermillion Bay Sweet
shrimp
– Public informed after the fact
– Whole project has been experimental
• Community Members (2/5-10)
– Little knowledge of the program or developments

26. Preliminary Findings: Interviews
• DDS Fishers (2/5-10)
– Always sold direct, now ‘losing’ customers
– Vermilion Bay Sweet
• “Chemical Free”
• Vermilion Bay
– Reallocation of dock space to recreational boats
– High shrimp prices at dock
• Non-DDS Fishers (0/5-10)

28. Preliminary Findings: Observations
• Extremely strong place attachment
• Enthusiastic participation in Seafood &
Farmers’ Market
• Enthusiastic consumer demand
• Local grocery, fish house, & fish shops accept
SNAP
• Numerous direct seafood marketing projects
across the state
• DDS participating fishers are not necessarily
‘local’

29. Other Interesting Findings &
Further Questions
• Informal Interviews
– Interdependent relationship between fish houses
and small-scale fishers
• “Sold my soul to the company store”
• Credit/debt keeps small fishers fishing
– Lack of trust for LSU/Sea Grant?
• Participation & Accountability?
• Compatibility/Competition with existing local
mechanisms?
• What exactly does local mean in this context?

30. Questions?