May 9, 2015 — The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee under the chair of David Vitter of Louisiana recently met to questioned seafood regulators and industry experts on how federal labor and safety laws are impacting small businesses within the seafood industry.
Testifying before the Louisiana senior Senator’s committee were: Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) Founding Member Frank Randol, President of Randol’s Inc.; Dr. Steven Solomon, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Portia Wu, the Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration for the U.S. Department of Labor; Dr. Mike Strain, Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry; and John P. Connelly, President of the National Fisheries Institute.
Seafood plays a major role in the culture and economy of the Gulf States. Regionally, the Gulf States produce 70 percent of the nation’s oysters, 69 percent of domestic shrimp, and are a leading producer of domestic hard- and soft-shell blue crabs. The seafood industry is responsible for creating jobs and revenue. It supports numerous families and coastal communities in the Gulf, which is why it is important to ensure a strong regulatory scheme is in place that takes into account local and regional needs, while also promoting safety and economic growth.
According to Vitter, Washington bureaucrats have failed to realize their rule making has placed many domestic seafood producers permanently out of business, leaving a void.