TALLAHASSEE – Three of the world’s most recognizable commercial fishing personalities are helping Florida mark National Seafood Month in October, and will soon be featured in a public awareness campaign promoting Florida seafood products and the “working waterfronts” where the state’s fishing heritage is preserved and cultivated.
Captains Sig Hansen and Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand — well known to viewers of the Discovery Channel’s wildly popular “Deadliest Catch” series about Alaskan crab fishing in the Bering Sea — will appear in television spots and other media promoting Florida’s fishing industry.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson, whose department promotes the state’s agriculture and seafood industries and helps administer the state’s Working Waterfronts Program, said he appreciates the popular fishing celebrities’ willingness to assist with Florida’s efforts.
“Whether fishing in subfreezing temperatures in the Bering Sea or in balmy waters off the Florida coast, America’s commercial fishermen understand the hard work that goes into bringing in their catch,” Bronson said. “I’m delighted that Sig, Johnathan and Andy are lending their status as internationally known fishing captains to help us raise public awareness of the important contributions that Florida’s fishermen make to our state and nation.”
Bronson said that Florida’s fishing industry has faced numerous challenges in recent years. He hopes that as the public learns more about Florida fishermen and the struggles they face to supply consumers with quality products, the more they will ask for domestically harvested seafood when shopping or dining out.
“In recent years, hurricanes have damaged fishing fleets, equipment and processing infrastructure, cheap seafood imports have flooded U.S. markets, and soaring fuel prices have drastically increased our fishermen’s cost of doing business,” Bronson said. “But, even when faced with this ‘perfect storm’ of adversity, our state’s fishermen persevere. Consumers can help by always asking for Florida-harvested seafood products.”
Florida’s commercial fishermen annually harvest more than 83 million pounds of quality seafood and fishery products with a dockside value of more than $168 million. Florida leads the U.S. in the number of seafood processing businesses with 500. Another 800 businesses buy and sell seafood as dockside fish buyers, wholesale brokers, importers or exporters. Retail and restaurant sales of Florida products total $24 billion annually.
The television public service announcements featuring the three fishing captains are expected to start airing statewide in December. Images of Hansen, captain of the “Northwestern,” and the Hillstrand brothers, co-captains of the “Time Bandit,” will also appear in print and web-based media.
In addition to promotions featuring the three fishing celebrities, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is producing a series of documentaries about several of Florida’s working waterfronts. The extended-length HD videos will detail the historical development of each area’s commercial fishing industry, promote tourism, and spotlight the fishermen who bring home Florida’s “Tastiest Catch.” The first video, titled “Florida’s Fishing Traditions: Sebastian,” will be released in October. Future videos will feature Cortez, Tarpon Springs, Jacksonville, Destin/Apalachicola, and Miami/Keys.