Seafood Quality Training Lab Hits the Streets

Joining the ranks of Charles Kuralt, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Louisiana Sea Grant and LSU AgCenter Marine Extension agent Thomas Hymel is spending his days “on the road” with the Seafood Quality Training Lab. The mobile training lab, which is part of the Louisiana Fisheries Forward program, is designed to educate commercial fishermen on the latest in onboard seafood refrigeration and cold chain management.

The lab is equipped with a pre-chiller for brine or plate freezing, which drops seafood temperatures to below 32 degrees in a flash; a shrimp splitter and deveiner; as well as a vacuum packing machine.

“This trailer has everything on it to teach commercial fishermen and those in the seafood industry how to properly use this type of equipment and produce a quality frozen seafood product,” said Hymel. “The objective of the lab, as well as the entire LFF program, is to provide fishermen with the knowledge they need in order to produce the highest quality seafood product so they can capture the highest price possible.”

Commercial fishermen and others interested in a visit from the mobile lab can contact Hymel at [email protected]. Those interested in the Louisiana Fisheries Forward program – a partnership between Louisiana Sea Grant, the LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries – can visit http://lafisheriesforward.org.

The mobile lab was engineered and built by LeBlanc & Associates, a specialty marine refrigeration company.