In Jefferson Parish, seafood is much more than an industry or an economic driver — it’s a way of life. From the serene coastal waters of Grand Isle to the busy banks of Lake Pontchartrain, the underwater bounty collected by fishermen is a testament to the region’s biodiversity, and that diversity extends to the fishermen themselves.
For centuries, the Port of New Orleans has been the entry point for immigrants arriving in the country. Many of those immigrants took jobs in local industries — like fishing. Perhaps no other immigrant community has contributed more to the fishing industry in Louisiana than Vietnamese Americans. Among the more recent ethnic groups to settle in the state, many came as refugees, fleeing their war-torn homeland after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
For many newcomers, the fishing industry was an easy transition. They simply had to adapt their knowledge of fishing in Vietnam’s swamps and coastlines to those of Louisiana. Today, almost two-thirds of Southeast Louisiana’s commercial shrimping fleets are made up of Vietnamese Americans.
Their contributions didn’t stop at simply being laborers, though. Vietnamese immigrants also brought with them their recipes and cooking techniques, infusing them with traditional Southeast Louisiana cuisine.
“There is a plethora of Viet-Cajun fused dishes such as crawfish fried rice and of course, Viet-Cajun crawfish with lemongrass and ginger additions to the boil,” said Katrina Williams, special programs coordinator at Coastal Communities Consulting, a nonprofit that works with commercial fishermen and Asian-Americans who have needed assistance with business development, social services and disaster recovery assistance.
Reminiscent of a famous shrimp scene from the 1994 film “Forest Gump,” Williams listed dozens of Vietnamese dishes that make great use of local seafood — of course, shrimp included. From goi cuon tom thit (shrimp and pork spring roll), lau hai san (seafood hot pot), goi tom (shrimp salad), and banh canh tom (shrimp udon noodle soup) to banh bot loc (Vietnamese steamed tapioca shrimp dumplings), cua rang me (crab with tamarind sauce), and hu tieu nam vang (Vietnamese seafood noodle soup with pork), the list is literally too large to include here (and you should definitely try some of these if they’re unfamiliar).
For Williams, the fusion was only natural, following the same pattern of cultural blending that has occurred throughout Louisiana’s history. Indeed, gumbo itself is the result of African, European and Native American ingredients and culinary practices. She pointed to the region’s sizable Croatian-American fishing community as another recent example. “They’ve left their mark on the oyster culinary culture here,” she said of the Cvitanovich family, which owns and manages Drago’s Restaurant, famous for its charbroiled oysters.
Despite their contributions, Vietnamese fishermen, and fishermen in general in Louisiana, face many challenges. For starters, imported seafood, which often lacks the quality and flavor of local catches, has become more prevalent. In addition, shrimp prices have significantly dwindled over the years.
Additionally, Williams said environmental impacts also pose serious challenges to the industry, like saltwater intrusion and both manmade and natural disasters. There are also industry regulations, license price increases, catch and size limits, inflation, maintenance costs and difficulty obtaining capital.
“And sadly, an overall low morale is negatively affecting fisherfolks,” Williams said. “Their pleas for help are seemingly endless and falling on deaf ears.”
There have, however, been efforts to help meet these challenges and ensure the long-term sustainability of the seafood industry in Jefferson Parish. Recent legislation has passed in an effort to curb the demand for imported seafood, particularly that bought by restaurants and grocery stores. The proposal also includes a variety of changes to strengthen the state’s seafood labeling laws with new prohibitions against misleading marketing and new requirements for restaurants and other eateries that serve shrimp and crawfish.
Their pleas for help are seemingly endless and falling on deaf ears.
– Katrina williams
Other recently passed bills that hope to give the local industry a boost include one that prohibits any public or private schools that receive state money from serving foreign seafood to students, another that calls for an additional seafood importer license that will base its fee on the volume of seafood being imported, and a third to improve testing on imported fish for public safety and impose fines for violations of health codes.
Additionally, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries administers grant programs for commercial fishermen. Currently they’re processing applications for the Equipment Modernization Grant Program, which reimburses eligible entities up to $30,000 for past and future equipment purchases that promote industry sustainability. This includes equipment that decreases environmental impacts such as TEDs (turtle excluder devices).
There’s also help from local organizations, which Williams said have played a huge role — like Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO).
“It’s good to see that local economic development incubators such as JEDCO have developed a fishery-specific loan program, whereas before fishermen had little to no options when it came to securing capital.”
Jerry Bologna, president and CEO of JEDCO, said the seafood industry is vital to the region, and protecting vulnerable communities is crucial to protecting it.
“We can see the influence of Vietnamese and other immigrant communities at every level of this industry,” he said, noting the 2022 opening of Crawlins Seafood in Terrytown, a restaurant that specializes in Viet-Cajun cuisine, which JEDCO helped fund.
“We’ve funded similar projects throughout the region in recent years,” Bologna said. “We’re seeing more and more of these types of restaurants open, which really showcases the cultural diversity found within this industry, and on a larger scale, in Jefferson Parish.”
Bologna echoed Williams’ concerns about imported seafood and the impact of disasters like Hurricane Ida and the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry. He said that’s why JEDCO launched the Seafood Enterprise Assistance (SEA) Fund, a loan program tailored to meet the needs of commercial fishermen and fisheries related businesses.
“We also secured a $100,000 Technical Assistance Grant from Louisiana Economic Development to further assist seafood businesses through business retention meetings, industry partnerships, business attraction, supply chain development, marketing and events,” he said.
Through that funding, JEDCO was able to host a tour of its new off-bottom alternative oyster culture in Grand Isle to connect the farmers with several local chefs and restaurateurs. Bologna said the trip has already resulted in more restaurants carrying local seafoods.
For Bologna, supporting the fishing and seafood industry in Jefferson Parish is a no-brainer. The region’s food culture is one of the largest exportable industries in Jefferson Parish, he said.
“That includes food manufacturing. However, it begins with our harvesting of the raw products along our waterways,” he said. “The seafood industry in Jefferson Parish plays a vital role in our economic success. We are doing everything we can to ensure its long-term sustainability.”
