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Flashback: 1988
THE YEAR: 1988
The state’s seafood industry—a backbone of Louisiana culture—has undergone a fierce makeover since the ‘80s. In this 1988 cover package, Business Report takes a look at the state of the seafood industry and explores whether it could replace the oil-and-gas sector as the state’s main economic engine. At the time, the state’s seafood industry’s economic impact was estimated at $300 million a year, according to the article. Researchers and entrepreneurs at the time were exploring ways to support and expand the industry, including looking into potential uses for discarded seafood shells and the culinary possibilities of soft-shell crawfish. Now estimated to be worth $2.4 billion a year, the seafood industry has become an important pillar of the state’s tourism efforts.
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“MANY LOUISIANANS THINK of the state’s seafood industry as the guy on the corner who sells shrimp out of the back of his pickup truck. Or maybe they think it’s the neighborhood dish market where they buy a sack of crawfish to boil on a Sunday afternoon. … One of the unexpected darlings of the national market is the soft-shell crawfish—a delicacy produced only in Louisiana. Soft crawfish have moved into the best restaurants in the country—restaurants that have nothing to do with the ‘Cajun’ craze. Local soft crawfish buyer Frank Eakin said, ‘We try to stay clear of the Cajun theme in our marketing because if and when the Cajun fad dies, we want to still be there.’”
LOUISIANALOUISIANA —From the June 1988 issue of Business Report TIME FOR A CHANGE: Downtown business owners urge extending state employees’ lunch breaks—from 30 minutes to 45 minutes—to boost sales. OUTLOOK FOR OIL: Experts at LSU believe the oil bubble will soon end as oil prices and the state’s rig count continue to decline.
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