Visit St. Pete Clearwater Has Its Own Local Take on Shark Week

Visit St. Pete/Clearwater in Florida is riffing off the popularity of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week with its own local celebration of a fish, the grouper.

Through July 11, Grouper Week touts what the tourism board characterizes as a "tastier denizen of the deep," the locally available grouper. Similar to restaurant weeks that many destinations sponsor, Grouper Week in St. Pete/Clearwater touts grouper specials at area restaurants, recipes and fishing charters. Grouper Week is the area's first destination-wide seafood promotion.

"Rather than highlighting a wide range of dishes during a generic restaurant week, we wanted to focus on what makes our culinary scene unique," says Visit St. Pete/Clearwater executive director David Downing. "And one thing we have in abundance is grouper, prepared in many different styles and presented at all price points."

And riding the popularity of Shark Week doesn't hurt either.

Visit St. Pete/Clearwater is running its own promotional spot to highlight the alleged rivalry of Grouper Week versus Shark Week. In addition to TV ads, the campaign includes appearances by chef Justin Timineri from the Florida Department of Agriculture, radio promotions, digital billboards across central Florida, print ads, social media elements and a GrouperWeek.com website.

After at least seven recent shark attacks in North Carolina, Grouper Week is looking like a welcome relief.