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May 20, 2009
Enthusiasm is high for creating brand identity for local seafood
By SUSAN WEST
Enthusiasm for creating a brand identity for Dare County seafood ran
high at a public meeting at the Fessenden Center in Buxton last week.
The June 2 meeting drew more than 20 individuals who brought the
perspectives of seafood wholesalers and harvesters, restaurants,
consumers, marketing consultants, and government agencies together to
discuss a local seafood promotion program.
“One of the very first questions tourists ask me is where they
can buy local seafood. Developing a logo and a simple way for
visitors to identify those places would be a valuable service,”
said Mike Martin, who works at the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau Welcome
Center in Hatteras.
Much of the discussion focused on the participation of county restaurants.
Sara Mirabilio, fisheries specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant,
said participating restaurants in Carteret Catch, a local seafood
marketing program in Carteret County, are required to serve one local
product throughout the year when seasonally available.
“The Carteret Catch products at restaurants reflect what’s
available and they change. It might be shrimp at one time, flounder or
oysters at other times,” she explained.
John Griffin said that arrangement would address the concern he heard from some restaurant owners on Hatteras Island.
“A number of restaurants expressed interest in participating if
they could run seasonal specialties featuring local products.
That way they wouldn’t have to reprint their menus,”
Griffin, a Rodanthe resident, said.
Don Oden from the Breakwater Restaurant in Hatteras said his restaurant and many others in the area already do that.
“Right now we’re running dolphin and Spanish mackerel
specials. Earlier it was soft shell crabs,” he said.
Mirabilio said that restaurants in the county that already serve local
seafood would likely be among the initial members of the program.
In Carteret County, participating restaurants and retail stores display
the Carteret Catch logo on storefronts and menus and on flags supplied
through the program.
Amy Huggins with the College of the Albemarle Small Business Center
reminded the group of the importance of talking with restaurant
managers.
“You really need to pay close attention to what restaurants and
chefs have to say about why they use or don’t use local
seafood,” she said.
Seafood dealers attending the meeting supported the branding program.
“The quality of the products that come out of this area is
already recognized nationwide in the wholesaling sector. The
impetus here is to better promote that reputation locally,” said
Jeff Aiken, owner of Jeffrey’s Seafood in Hatteras.
Mikey Daniels from Wanchese Fish Company cautioned that stipulations in
the company’s agreements with some food distribution firms might
mean that not all types of seafood could be sold to local businesses.
“But if we can get this project running, it would be a good thing
and there’d be more money going to fishermen,” Daniels said.
A number of participants identified lower transportation costs and
lower energy consumption as additional benefits to the program.
Aiken said the benefits also extended beyond economics.
“What we’re promoting is sustainably-harvested local
food. That ties in with a positive identification of commercial
fishermen in the eyes of consumers and the public,” he noted.
Other meeting participants said a successful branding program would support economic development in the county.
“This project could generate other entrepreneurial initiatives,
such as a cutting house and production of value-added products on the
island,” said Sharon Peele Kennedy, a Buxton resident.
The Dare County Commission for Working Watermen endorsed the concept of
developing a local seafood branding program in April. The
commission plans to schedule a meeting to gauge community support in
the northern section of the county.
Persons interested in working on the branding project should call Jamie
Reibel, vice-chairman of the working watermen commission, at
252-473-2901.
May 20, 2009
Effort to promote Dare seafood begins to take shape
By SUSAN WEST
A grassroots initiative to promote Dare County seafood began to take
shape at the Chicamacomico Banks Fire Station in Rodanthe last week.
Jamie Reibel, vice-chairman of the Dare County Commission for Working
Watermen and a Manteo charter-boat captain, arranged the public meeting
after the watermen’s commission expressed strong interest last
month in developing a county seafood promotion program.
Much of the discussion Wednesday centered on whether to build a program
specific to Dare County or to dovetail on the North Carolina Department
of Agriculture and Consumers Service’s statewide program.
The state program, “Freshness from NC Waters,” promotes
both wild-caught and farmed seafood. William Small, program
director, said the agency works with seafood wholesalers and retailers
across the state.
Local seafood marketing programs developed in Carteret and Brunswick
counties focus on consumer education, explained Sara Mirabilio,
fisheries specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant.
Carteret Catch started in 2006, creating a logo that, displayed on
storefronts and on menus, is a quick way for consumers to identify
businesses that sell local fish and shellfish. Mirabilio said the
non-profit group developed controls to prevent misuse of the logo.
Organizers of Brunswick Catch are developing a business plan patterned
on the one used in Carteret, and expect their program to be
up-and-running this summer.
The group assembled in Rodanthe last week decided to follow the lead of
Carteret County also, specifically promoting seafood landed by Dare
County fishermen, but working in cooperation with the state Agriculture
Department.
“This will be beneficial to commercial fishermen, to restaurants,
to tourism, and to the county’s economy,” said Reibel.
Food writer Lynne Foster from Hatteras suggested that naming the
project Dare Catch would help tie the program to those in other
counties.
Organizers agreed that the next step would be to gauge interest from restaurants and seafood dealers in the county.
Mirabilio said the Carteret Catch program has attracted national
publicity for participating restaurants. Restaurants that offer
at least one local commodity throughout the year when seasonally
available are eligible for membership.
One Carteret County restaurant owner was able to track increased
business due to requests for a dish featured in Carteret Catch
television advertising that ran in Raleigh, according to Pam Morris,
president of the non-profit.
Russ Lay, a Nags Head mortgage broker who has been working
independently to promote local seafood and regional farm produce, said
the Dare County project would coincide with the growth in consumer
demand for local, sustainably-produced foods.
“We have a big advantage in that at least two-thirds of the East
Coast knows about the Outer Banks and national media outlets would be
willing to publicize what we are doing,” Lay said.
The group said benefits for commercial fishermen and seafood dealers
would include higher prices for their products, lower transportation
costs, and market diversification.
“Farmers in North Carolina know that branding is critical and are
putting a face on the business. Farmers are way ahead of
fishermen in this respect,” said Joanne Throne, president of
Coastal Harvesters, a Hatteras Island non-profit working to establish a
farmers’ market that would feature fish as well as produce.
Tommy Fulcher, John Griffin, and Sharon Peele Kennedy also participated in the meeting.
Persons interested in working on the marketing program should call Jamie Reibel at 252-473-2901.
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