Dare County to brand local seafood

Outer Bank tourists fill their grocery carts with seafood and order fish at local restaurants. Outer Banks fishermen catch tons of fish in the nearby ocean and sounds. Often, one has little to do with the other.

To help bridge that gap, Dare County is preparing to launch a branding program, "Outer Banks Catch," to promote locally caught seafood and inform consumers about what kinds of fresh fish are available when.

"This is really going to help the fishermen educate the general public, which is ultimately going to help the commercial fisherman," said Jamie Reibel, a member of the county's working watermen committee. "It's worthy."

Mike Johnson, a county commissioner, said that the vast majority of seafood eaten nationally, including in the Outer Banks, is caught overseas.

"Even our kids don't understand how much imported seafood we eat in Dare County," he said.

Vacationers may be as likely to order lobster caught off Maine as they are flounder caught off Hatteras, he said, and unless they know better, they may end up eating shrimp from Vietnam rather than shrimp that was just unloaded in Wanchese.

"I'm not saying people are ignorant," Johnson said. "They just assume it's local."

As chairman of the working watermen committee, Johnson helped orchestrate the formation of the Outer Banks Catch program, which held its first executive committee meeting last week. It is modeled on similar programs in Carteret and Brunswick counties, he said, and would include catch from Hyde, Tyrrell and Currituck counties.

In 2008, commercial watermen landed 22.7 million pounds of seafood in Dare County, valued at more than $23 million, according to the state Division of Marine Fisheries. Considering that landings that year statewide were 71 million pounds with a value of about $87 million, Dare's catch is extraordinary.

But much of the fish caught off its shores is shipped to New York and other ports, although the percentage is not known.

Part of the goal of the branding program is to create more demand locally for the catch, before it is shipped off. In the process, it is hoped that consumers will gain appreciation for the value of fresh catch and the watermen's role in putting it on the table, said Sharon Peele Kennedy, a Buxton resident and chairwoman of the Outer Banks Catch executive committee.

There are several Hatteras Island restaurateurs who regularly go to the docks to get fresh-caught fish for their customers, Kennedy said.

"Yes, it's economical to get imported fish, but that's not what people come here for," she said. "They know we're famous for our shrimp, our clams, our blue crabs, our oysters. They're aware of our flounder, especially."

The hope is that once people understand that there are seasons for fish - just as there are for produce - they won't ask for oysters in the summertime, or soft-shell crab in the winter.

The program would use a logo - the preliminary design is a yellowfin tuna - to identify local catch. Restaurants that participate would agree to serve at least one fresh-caught fish at any given time throughout the year. Supermarkets will also be encouraged to stock local seasonal catch.

The committee expects to be ready to present the branding campaign to the community by April, Kennedy said.

Once people experience the difference between a fish just off a boat in Wanchese and an imported fish with mysterious origins served at a chain restaurant, Johnson said, the demand will naturally grow.

"There is a huge difference from the stuff that comes frozen off the truck and our fresh local-caught seafood," he said. "There's no comparison on the taste."

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com