By Greg Hazley
The interstate commission that promotes and manages the U.S. fishery in the Gulf of Mexico is trolling for outreach support as part of its Oil Disaster Recovery Program.
The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, covering Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, has issued an open RFP as it seeks help in communicating and building support for a new electronic "traceability program," which tracks seafood from its location of harvest through the supply chain.
The commission sees traceability as a key marketing advantage for Gulf seafood within its efforts to reverse a sector decline following last year's BP oil spill.
The RFP notes that major retailers like Whole Foods and Wal-Mart have said they will only sell certified marine products with specific labels, so the commission sees the tracking system as a potential marketplace advantage for its products.
Much of the outreach is within the industry to dealers and processors, as well as stakeholders to act as a liaison and evangelist for the ODRP program and traceability initiative.
The commission expects a contract will run from sometime in August through 2014. An official pegged the budget as under $400K.
Proposals are due Aug. 22. Download the RFP (PDF).
The Louisiana Seafood Marketing Board in May hired three agencies to run a $15M, BP-funded marketing campaign in support of Gulf-caught seafood from that state.
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