Michael G. Haby

Michael G. Haby is a Professor and Extension Economist, jointly funded by Texas Cooperative and the Sea Grant College Program. Haby works exclusively with the seafood production, utilization, and marketing sectors. His current applied research focuses on the creation of (a) various initiatives and policies to help the domestic shrimp industry navigate through an ongoing, worldwide, revenue crisis and (b) quality improvement and certification protocols for producers and processors of wild, domestic shrimp. Recently, Haby, Russ Miget, and Gary Graham received $450,000 to (a) evaluate the contribution that experimental trawl gear makes to fuel conservation in the offshore shrimp fishery and (b) create best management practices for maximizing the fraction of premium-quality wild shrimp produced by the Gulf and South Atlantic fleet. Historically, Haby has led efforts to (a) develop standardized performance analysis for offshore shrimp producers and (b) establish seafood quality and safety management systems for nation's grocery industry.

Haby's recent outreach efforts have included establishing Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Gulf and South Atlantic shrimp producers and providing technical assistance to more than 2,200 vessel owners, captains, and crew members in on-board, quality-improvement procedures. As a result of TAA, qualifying Texas shrimp fishermen realized almost $11 million in cash payments. Haby, Miget, and Graham also committed to sharing the results of fuel-conservation technologies and best handling practices across a diverse producer audience that uses three first-languages: English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Haby and his Sea Grant colleagues across the Gulf and South Atlantic states recently completed a training curriculum for domestic shrimp processors that will enable them to market wild shrimp certified by Wild American Shrimp, Inc. (WASI), a trade association. To date, one hundred shrimp processing firms in eight states have earned the right to market compliant shrimp under the WASI certification.

Special focus: Shrimp Industry, Quality Improvement and Certification, and Food Safety