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U.S. News NEW ORLEANS Hurricane Isaac causes millions in damages L ouisiana's seafood in- dustry suffered tens of millions of dollars in losses after Hurricane Isaac swept through the area on Aug. 29. Oyster harvesting has slowed down and normal supply is expected to resume by late October. "One week of Louisiana seafood is worth $45 million, and 45 percent of the seafood production comes from the areas hardest hit. Dealers and processors lost a week or more WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. seafood consumption drops again in 2011 U.S. per-capita seafood con- sumption dropped to 15 pounds in 2011, out of their lives and, in some cases, the infrastructure dam- age is as bad or worse than Hurricane Katrina," says Har- lon Pearce, chairman of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board. Hurricane Isaac resulted in more flooding and infra- structure damage than Hur- ricane Katrina in certain areas because the storm stayed over Louisiana and Mississippi for 54 hours with sustained high winds and rain, versus in 2010. In terms of volume, imports reached 5.3 billion pounds, 108 million pounds more than in 2010. according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service. Tat's down from 15.8 pounds in 2010 and the second lowest amount in a decade. However, Americans consumed 4.7 billion pounds of seafood, making the United States second only to China in total seafood consumption. American consumers also continue to spend more on seafood, an estimated $85.9 billion for fishery products in 2011, up from $80.2 billion in 2010 and $75.5 billion in 2009. Last year, Americans spent $57.7 billion at foodser- vice establishments (up from 54 billion in 2010), $27.6 bil- lion at retail (up from $25.8 billion in 2010) and $625 mil- lion (up from $432 million) on industrial fish products. U.S. imports of fishery prod- ucts in 2011 accounted for 91 percent of seafood consumed and were valued at $16.6 bil- lion, up from $14.8 billion New England groundfish, Alaska king salmon declared disasters Te U.S. Department of Commerce last month de- clared a disaster for New England's groundfishing fleet for the upcoming 2013 season, clearing the way for Congress to appropriate up to $100 million in assis- tance. Cod and other stocks are not rebuilding as quickly as expected despite the in- dustry's compliance with strict catch limits. Fisher- men face reductions of as much as 70 percent in the amount of cod and other species they can land. "Te future challenges facing the men and women in this in- dustry and the shore-based businesses that support them are daunting, and we want to do everything we can to help them through these difficult times," says Rebecca Blank, acting sec- retary of the U.S. Depart- ment of Commerce. Blank For updated NEWS, go to www.SeafoodSource.com Katrina's span of 21 hours. "Te storm surge was greater in some respects than Katrina. Twenty boats sank and there is some in- frastructure damage," says Mike Voisin, owner of oyster processor Motivatit Seafoods also announced disaster declarations for king salmon fisheries in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, which flow into the Bering Sea. Cook Inlet fisheries have experienced revenue losses of up to 90 percent this year. JACKSON, Miss. Catfish industry urges Texas to test imports Te U.S. farmed catfish in- dustry is urging Texas to require imported catfish to undergo the same safety testing required of domes- tic catfish. "We recommend that Texas start testing as a matter of consumer protec- tion and consider country of origin labeling for catfish served in restaurants," says Facts & FIGURES 6.75 124 5.2 The Food Institute's forecasted increase in weekly grocery spending, in dollars, for a family of four in 2013 ($351.12) due to the severe drought in the Midwest Bento Sushi locations in Canada that achieved chain-of- custody certification from the Marine Stewardship Council, the largest restaurant chain in North America to do so Billions of dollars that Alaska seafood exports were worth in 2011, according to World Trade Center Alaska October 2012 SeaFood Business 7 in Houma, La. Damage to boats, docks and coolers is most significant east of Bay- ou Lafourche. Voisin does not expect "significant" amounts of oys- ters until late October and possibly early November. Jeff McCord, advisor to Te Catfish Institute (TCI) in Jackson, Miss. McCord was invited to testify before the Texas Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs last month for a hearing on seafood safety. State Senator Glenn Hegar had filed a bill that would restrict catfish imports last year. Te bill did not pass, and Sen. Hegar has not decided whether to re- file the bill in the state's next legislative session, according to Lauren Wied, a legislative aide. TCI is not proposing legislation in Texas to ban im- ports of catfish or pangasius. Instead, the industry wants to strengthen U.S. rules on testing because of concerns about antibiotics and other restricted chemicals. Photo courtesy of NOAA