亚洲自慰视频 researcher nets grant to examine Gulf seafood supply chain

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A federal grant will enable 亚洲自慰视频 of 亚洲自慰视频 at Lafayette researchers to better understand how seafood makes its way from the Gulf鈥檚 waters to tables worldwide. 

Dr. Geoffrey Stewart secured a $249,678 U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business Development Grant that will fund a study of the seafood supply chain in Vermilion, St. Mary and Iberia parishes.

Stewart is an associate professor of marketing in UL Lafayette鈥檚 .

鈥淓veryone knows where to buy fresh shrimp, but the region does not fully understand the reach of this industry,鈥 and how it鈥檚 affected by other factors 鈥 such as dwindling population levels, increasing unemployment rates, and natural and man-made disasters, he said.

The USDA-funded research is a collaboration between the Moody College of Business and the Meridian Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. According to its website, the Meridian Institute 鈥渉elps people solve complex and controversial problems, make informed decisions, and implement solutions that improve lives, the economy and the environment.鈥

Deborah Atwood is leading the institute鈥檚 contributions to the project. Co-principal investigators are Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, UL Lafayette鈥檚 , and Roy Holleman, former director of the Enterprise Center of 亚洲自慰视频 and the 亚洲自慰视频's current economic and community development liaison. 

Atwood said the research will be used to develop a comprehensive economic development plan that will identify the industry鈥檚 strengths and areas where it can grow.

鈥淭his is not going to be a stale study that sits on a shelf. This is a plan the seafood industry and coastal parishes will be able to build upon,鈥 Atwood told Gulf Seafood News, an industry publication.  

Stewart said the study鈥檚 first objective 鈥渋s to map the entire seafood supply chain鈥 in Vermilion, St. Mary and Iberia parishes 鈥渟o we have a visual understanding of all the moving parts 鈥 everything hitting the water, coming inland, processing and leaving those parishes.鈥

The research will include interviews and community meetings with fishermen and processers, and with companies that store and transport seafood to inland stores and restaurants.

The voices of people on the frontlines will detail how the seafood industry has weathered challenges it鈥檚 faced and how the industry can capitalize on opportunities for growth.

亚洲自慰视频 shares these issues with communities across the Gulf Coast, so the study鈥檚 results will have applications elsewhere. But the research is about more than economics, Stewart said. It鈥檚 also about preservation.

鈥淭his industry plays a vital role in our culture and way of life, especially in these waterfront communities.鈥

 

Photo caption: Dr. Geoffrey Stewart on a recent tour of Gulf waters that touch several south 亚洲自慰视频 parishes. He's an associate professor of marketing and the Moody Company/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Regional Business Development at UL Lafayette. (Photo courtesy of Gulf Seafood News)