Alabama Seafood is defined as any seafood product sold by Alabama businesses and sourced from Gulf and local waters.

Created in March 2011 with the signing of Executive Order 09, the ASMC was established to increase business for Alabama’s seafood industry. Alabama Seafood is defined as any seafood product sold by Alabama businesses and sourced from Gulf and local waters.

The ASMC is comprised of volunteer members appointed for a three-year term by the Governor of Alabama that includes fishermen, processors, charter boat operators, retailers, restaurant owners and others directly and indirectly related to the Alabama seafood industry. Led by Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of Conservation, the Commission will help provide advice, oversight, management and encouragement to the marketing of Alabama seafood.

Chris M.Blankenship, the Commissioner of Conservation, will be leading this collaborative effort through all angles of marketing for our seafood business—everything from management and oversight to encouraging words for our friends in the industry. He was appointed by Governor Kay Ivey in August 2017.

For a full list of ASMC volunteers and their connection to the Alabama seafood industry, click here.

Alabama Gulf Seafood is a tradition that stretches back further than that of our own country. The first European settlers in Alabama reported that fish were one of the Native Americans’ main sources of food, and by the mid-1700s, Mobile had established itself as a premiere seafood spot thanks to dishes like stuffed Snapper and Shrimp jambalaya.

Our seafood tradition became industrialized around the early 1800s when Alabama was admitted to the Union. Back then, Shrimp were preserved with ice and distributed throughout the states by rail. This evolved into a canning method by the early 1900s, which eventually became the seafood processing system that we use today.

While the commercial side of the seafood world is a big part of Alabama’s history, there are plenty of natural events that distinguish our culture. Mobile Bay happens to be the only place in the world that regularly plays host to a jubilee—many kinds of shrimp, crabs and fish will spontaneously swarm near the water’s edge along a particular stretch of shoreline. In an instinctive attempt to avoid temporary patches of oxygen-poor bay water, the creatures are driven to the shore and appear to be literally climbing or jumping out of the water. These jubilees usually happen at least once a year and offer a unique opportunity for recreational seafood harvesting along the eastern shore of the Bay.

Seafood is a big part of who we are, which is why it’s important to make sure your dinner comes from Alabama waters.

Gulf Coast seafood doesn’t just process itself. There are thousands of year-round and seasonal workers that spin the wheels of Alabama’s seafood industry, which means a lot of folks depend on catching or processing the Gulf’s bounty to bring home a paycheck.

We’re proud of the quality of our seafood. Because we take the time to clean it, head it, pick it, shuck it, grade it, bread it, pack it, freeze it, and transport it, Alabama seafood holds some of the best value in the Gulf Coast.

When you eat Alabama Gulf Seafood, everybody wins—from you and your family and friends who enjoy the freshest and tastiest dinner fare, to the many hands who helped make it all possible.