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- LSU AgCenter's Seafood Processing Demonstration Lab is strengthening Louisiana's seafood industry
(05/21/25) JEANERETTE, La. — In the heart of Cajun Country, where the seafood industry is a cornerstone of the local economy, the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant Seafood Processing Demonstration Lab is making waves. This innovative facility is not only advancing the state's seafood industry but also providing invaluable support to small businesses and independent fishermen.
On a windy morning in April, Thomas Hymel loaded up a batch of gar boulettes or balls to take to the first Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market of the season. Hymel, a marine extension agent with both the AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, serves as the executive director of the Seafood Processing Demonstration Lab. The lab was teaming up with fisherman Douglas “Big D” Olander and chef John Reason for demonstrations and tastings of underused fish species such as garfish.
Douglas “Big D” Olander demonstrates how to process a garfish at the Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market on April 5. Olander is partnering with the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant Seafood Processing Demonstration Lab to show how to use underutilized species of fish such as gar. Photo by Evelyn Watts
At the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant Seafood Processing Demonstration Lab in Jeanerette, Evelyn Watts, an associate professor in the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences and a seafood extension specialist with the AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, describes a skin packaging sealer to visitors. The sealer is part of the array of equipment the lab has that can process and add value to seafood. Photo by Tobie Blanchard/LSU AgCenter
Thomas Hymel, a marine extension agent with both the AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, fried gar balls at the lab. The lab can process boney fish like buffalo fish and eel, mince the meat and make it into balls that are fried and traditionally served in a stew. This is a value-added product for the seafood industry. Photo by Tobie Blanchard/LSU AgCenter
“It's just one of those fish that is plentiful,” Hymel said. “It's a freshwater fish found in rivers, and in the old days you could buy it at a neighborhood fish market.”
He said gar and other species, such as buffalo and gaspergou, are heritage fish in Louisiana, “things that our grandmothers cooked, that maybe they caught themselves. They made court bouillon or they made stews.”
Nowadays, these species aren’t readily available in markets, partly because local fish markets aren’t as plentiful as they used to be and partly because people aren’t sure what to do with them. That is where the seafood lab comes in.
The Seafood Processing Demonstration Lab, established with the goal of adding value to Louisiana's seafood products, is equipped with state-of-the-art technology designed to maximize the use of every catch, helping commercial fishermen and seafood processors.
Hymel said the facility focuses on full use of seafood products, ensuring that nothing goes to waste.
“We have machines that can capture meat left in crab shells and process bony fish like buffalo into usable products,” he said.
This approach not only adds economic value but also aligns with global trends in seafood processing.
“In other countries, every part of that is used. Even here in the U.S., there are many restaurants that are interested in all those parts,” Hymel said, “It's about making sure that we can make all those things available commercially.”
The lab, located in a modest warehouse at the AgCenter’s Iberia Research Station, boasts an impressive array of equipment. The flake ice machine creates snowlike ice that doesn’t damage seafood. A skin packaging machine allows for wrapping fish with a clear skin of plastic over the fish — making for a more attractive product.
Evelyn Watts, an associate professor in the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences and a seafood extension specialist with the AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, oversees research at the lab. She said many commercial fishermen are still selling their products in zip-close bags or wrapping them in butcher paper.
“We see in the global market you have those beautiful packages,” Watts said. “It gives a fresher visual to the consumer and can enhance its marketability.”
The lab also has a shrimp splitter, fish skinner, meat grinder, band saw, a commercial meat smoker, multiple freezers including a plate and brine freezer and a mobile seafood quality training unit.
For many small-scale fishermen and processors, the lab is offering a lifeline, allowing them to compete with bigger companies and in new markets.
“Many independent fishermen need guidance on how to diversify their products and start small processing businesses,” Ann Dugas, lab outreach operations coordinator, said.
The lab provides essential training on preserving product quality, packaging and compliance with regulations, empowering fishermen to be able to process and sell their catch directly to consumers.
Evelyn Watts demonstrates how to filet garfish during a training with LSU AgCenter Nutrition and Community Health agents. Photo by Tobie Blanchard/LSU AgCenter
The lab has collaborated with Reason, the executive chef for the Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market, to develop products that can be made from the parts of the fish or species of fish that aren’t traditionally marketable. He is working on recipes and products using minced gar, buffalo and eel.
“I’m tinkering with it, creating recipes and seeing what all could be done besides just a patty,” Reason said.
He has used minced fish to create seafood boudin, a seafood chimichanga, a fish corn dog product and seafood stuffed peppers.
He sees the minced fish being used in ready-to-heat products like the ones he is developing or sold as is for home cooks to use in their own recipes and adding value to parts of the fish that didn’t have much value before.
“It’s zero waste. You have no waste whatsoever,” Reason said. “And it keeps our fishermen going.”
These are innovations Hymel said the fishing industry has been asking for but are unable to accomplish alone.
“They're busy making a living. They've got to go with what they know is tried and true,” Hymel said. “But here we do have the time and we're working with those same people to create products that certainly have some economic value, and that's a lot of what this lab brings to our Louisiana industry.”
Customers at the Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market sample gar balls. Photo by Thomas Hymel
Olander is a commercial fisherman and dock owner out of St. Mary Parish. He started fishing at the age of five and never stopped. It’s a job he loves but describes it as a tough life. The costs of fuel, electricity and ice are big expenses and profits can be slim.
“Whenever you're in business, it's like a monster that you got to keep feeding nonstop,” Olander said. “You’ve got to keep your head above water and always look for new outlets.”
He has found outlets with those underutilized fish, adding retail products to supplement his wholesale side.
Louisiana Direct Seafood and the Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market have also helped him reach new customers. The seafood lab is helping him seize new opportunities.
“That lab demonstrates exactly what all can be done with the seafood and shows the potential,” he said. “It gives us the opportunity to see exactly what all can be done with the seafood products. It really helps out all of these guys, not just myself.”