QUALITY CONTROL AND MARKETING 



Quality control is a serious concern of the industry and increasingly 

 strict regulations designed to protect the public health add to the cost of 

 seafood products. Although quality control codes generally are enforced by 

 several state or Federal agencies, enforcement is often inadequate. Some of 

 the more progressive fishery companies employ their own quality control stan- 

 dards to assure safe and high quality products. 



Although Florida boasts some of the largest and most modern seafood 

 plants in the southeastern United States, a large portion of the fishing 

 industry depends upon small fishing operations. To increase fish production 

 and to extend the markets for under-utilized species, an extensive marketing- 

 consumer promotion is required that is beyond the capacity of most members of 

 the industry. To meet this need, the State of Florida has established a sea- 

 food marketing-extension program supported by the industry. Federal matching 

 money, and State revenues. This program emphasizes under-utilized species. 

 The development of new species or products in the market may provide the fol- 

 lowing benefits: (1) the new fishery will tend to take the pressure off tra- 

 ditional fisheries, especially those that are heavily fished; (2) the fish 

 will sell at a lower price; and (3) more people will be hired in the fishing 

 industry. One of the best examples is rock shrimp. Prior to an extensive 

 marketing and educational program, rock shrimp in the catches usually were 

 discarded. Now rock shrimp support a multimillion dollar fishery. 



Marketing successes in Florida led to the establishment of out-of-state 

 offices funded by the seafood marketing and extension program, and additional 

 funds or assistance from Coastal Plains Regional Commission, National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, and the Gulf and South Atlantic Fishery Development Founda- 

 tion. Their cooperative actions also have supported extensive seafood promo- 

 tion in the midwest. Most recently, international marketing of Florida and 

 southeastern U.S. seafood products have been highly successful and may pos- 

 sibly lead to the establishment of a cooperative European office under the 

 auspices of some state or Federal agency. 



Limited Entry 



The production of some fish and shellfish appears to he at or near maxi- 

 mum sustained yield and has been for many years, but rapidly rising prices 

 have stimulated increasing competition for fish and individual catches and 

 profits have declined. In most fisheries, there are more fishing vessels and 

 fishermen than are actually needed for optimum or maximum production. Because 

 of this excess, the idea of limited entry is receiving extensive discussion in 

 Florida and already has been initiated in some states. 



Limited entry is defined as limiting the number of fishemien or fishing 

 boats in a fishery. The object is to conserve fish stocks, increase the in- 

 come of individual fishermen, and possibly reduce market prices. The only 

 limited entry in Florida is directed toward eventual elimination of the food 

 shrimp fishery in the St. Johns River. Food shrimp production is illegal 

 there without a permit, and only those holding permits can renew them. Since 

 permits are invalidated when the holder dies or discontinues fishing, the num- 

 ber of permits eventually will decline to zero. So far the number of permits 

 has declined from about 650 to about 130. 



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