Saving Seafood

Fisheries Forum in Boston – March 14

February 10, 2020 — The following was released by the Southeastern Fisheries Association:

The Southeastern Fisheries Association has been working to defend, protect, and enhance the commercial fishing industry in the southeastern United States since its establishment in 1952.

The issues affecting the industry vary from region to region, based on the geographical areas of the US with commercial fishing groups. We intend to connect with organizations like ours – and yours – to discuss plans and ideas for the future of US commercial fishing as a whole.

SFA invites your organization to join us for a conversation on the current and future state of the US commercial fishing industry at the inaugural Fisheries Forum, for those in your group that are attending the Seafood Expo. We have drafted a few topics to get the conversation started and welcome your suggestions to be considered for discussion at this event in Boston.

Some topics of discussion include:

  • What does the future of commercial fishing look like?
  • What is working – what is not?
  • What are your biggest challenges in today’s environment?
  • How do we establish timely disaster and assistance funding?
  • What can WE as an industry do to effect positive change?

We hope you will come share your thoughts, ideas and success stories with us on Saturday, March 14 at 3:00pm at the Westin Boston Waterfront. Together, we can pave a way forward for the US Commercial Fishing Industry.

Let us know if you have any questions/comments by sending an email to Laurie@SFAonline.org for the quickest response. If you prefer, we can also set up a phone call.

Thanks so much and we hope you’ll join us in Boston for this free event.

Diversified Communications puts coronavirus plan in place for Seafood Expo North America

January 31, 2020 — Seafood Expo North America organizer Diversified Communications said on 31 January the novel coronavirus outbreak has not affected its plans to host North America’s largest seafood expo, slated to take place 15 to 17 March at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

The coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, has spread rapidly in China and isolated cases have been found in other parts of the world, including eight in North America. “Diversified Communications has been responding to public safety situations for many years and has an effective crisis management protocol in place,” Diversified Communications Seafood Group Vice President Liz Plizga told SeafoodSource. “We have great confidence in our partnerships with the cities and local authorities where our events take place, and we will continue to update our customers on new developments. We look forward to a safe and successful event.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: National Fish files for bankruptcy

June 10, 2019 — National Fish & Seafood no longer operates in East Gloucester, having given way — and rise — to Atlantic Fish & Seafood in a recent asset sale.

But that does not mean the federal bankruptcy court or National Fish creditors are done with the former seafood processor.

National Fish, which shut down its operations on May 10 after failing to find a buyer for the financially beleaguered company, stated in May 29 filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston that it owes more than $80 million to all its creditors — including more than $64 million to secured creditors and $16 million to unsecured creditors.

“The board of directors for the company, having been fully apprised of all of the material facts related to the financial condition of the company, has determined it is in the best interests of the company, its creditors, and other parties in interest, that the company should cease operations and be liquidated under the supervision of the United States Bankruptcy Court,” National Fish’s board of directors stated in a unanimous written consent included in a May 29 filing.

The filings also confirm two other noteworthy items:

National Fish sold its assets to NSD Seafood Inc.  — the parent of Atlantic Fish & Seafood — for $3 million and National Fish’s largest creditor is the Dutch multinational bank Cooperative Rabobank, to which it owes “approximately $73 million in principal (plus interest, fees and other charges).”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Extended: Voluntary Vessel Speed Restriction Zone South of Nantucket to Protect Right Whales

April 10, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area – DMA) previously established south of Nantucket has been extended to protect an aggregation of 15 right whales sighted in this area on April 7.

This DMA is in effect through April 23, 2019.

Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less. Whales were spotted in or near shipping lanes so please be especially vigilant when traveling in these areas.

Nantucket DMA coordinates:

41 12 N
40 28 N
070 36 W
069 31 W

ACTIVE SEASONAL MANAGEMENT AREAS (SMAs)

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

Cape Cod Bay SMA — in effect through May 15

Off Race Point SMA– in effect through April 30

Mid-Atlantic U.S. SMAs (includes Block Island) — in effect through April 30

Southeast U.S. SMA — in effect through April 15

More info on Seasonal Management Areas

Right Whales Are Migrating

North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. With an unprecedented 20 right whale deaths documented in 2017 and 2018, NOAA is cautioning boaters to give these endangered whales plenty of room. We are also asking commercial fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales, remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements, and use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.

Right Whales in Trouble

North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are slightly more than 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

More Info

Recent right whale sightings

Find out more about our right whale conservation efforts and the researchers behind those efforts.

Download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone

Acoustic detections in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston TSS

Send a blank message to receive a return email listing all current U.S. DMAs and SMAs.

Details and graphics of all ship strike management zones currently in effect.

Reminder: Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175

2019 Seafood Expo North America brought over 21,500 industry professionals to Boston

April 8, 2019 — Last month, more than 21,500 seafood industry professionals from around the world arrived in Boston, Massachusetts for the 2019 edition of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, event organizer Diversified Communications revealed on 8 April.

With 1,329 exhibitors from 49 countries, this year’s expo – the largest of its kind in North America – covered 256,690 net square feet of exhibit space, Diversified confirmed. The atmosphere for SENA19 was lively and productive, with 600 key buyers perusing the show floor and conducting deals with suppliers, according to Wynter Courmont, event director for Diversified.

“The exhibitors and industry professionals at this year’s event were noticeably energized,” Courmont said in a press release. “There was no shortage of excitement around individual companies’ innovative products, preparation and packaging concepts; and we also saw a lot of enthusiasm for industry-wide initiatives around sustainable sourcing, aquaculture and more.”

For Moises del Rio, general manager of Verlasso Salmon, the time spent in Boston for SENA19 served to reinforce and amplify his company’s promotional and networking success.

“Verlasso has always been involved in the event, as it’s one of the main platforms in this industry where we can tell our story to a broader audience,” he said. “From the very inception of Verlasso, Seafood Expo North America has allowed us to build relationships that today, 8 years later, still remain very strong.”

The chief supply chain officer for U.S. restaurant chain Captain D’s, who brought a team of key buyers to the expo, remarked on the convenience and efficiencies the Boston-based event offers.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: Spaniards visit Gloucester to talk fishing

March 21, 2019 — Antonio Basanta Fernandez and Mercedes Rodriguez Moreda had completed their tasks at the Seafood Expo North America in Boston and were scheduled to first fly to New York and Ottawa for meetings before returning home to the Spanish region of Galicia.

But before they boarded the flight to New York on Tuesday night, the two executives of the Department of the Sea within the regional government of Galicia had an important stop:

They wanted to come to Gloucester and talk fishing.

“We know that Gloucester is one of the most important ports in northeast America,” Basanta Fernandez said Tuesday during an afternoon meeting at Gloucester City Hall with Fisheries Commission Chairman Mark Ring and commission director Al Cottone. “We think we share a lot of interests and there are a lot of similarities between our regions.”

Read the full story at The Gloucester Daily Times

A labor of love: How Martha Stewart and True North created their new seafood product line

March 19, 2019 — It was like the first day of school when Martha Stewart’s culinary director, Thomas Joseph, arrived at the 2019 Seafood Expo North America event in Boston, Massachusetts on its opening day.

Joseph, who is a 2017 James Beard Award winner, pulled up to the continent’s largest seafood trade event with the four initial offerings under the Martha Stewart brand’s latest seafood product line in tow, ready for their debut. The products were created in partnership with Cooke Inc.’s True North Seafood.

“We’re super-excited,” Joseph told SeafoodSource on Sunday, 17 March, as SENA19 roared to life. “Today was like the first day of school coming here, like I’m dropping my kids off.”

If you ask Joseph and Cooke Vice President of Public Relations Joel Richardson, the kids will be more than all right. Each a “labor of love,” the product line’s first outing includes Atlantic Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter; Sockeye Salmon with Miso Butter; Wild Alaska Pollock with Southwest Spice Blend; and a Seafood Medley (Wild Alaska Pollock, Atlantic Salmon, and Bay Scallops) with Herb Spice Blend. The line is expected to hit grocery store shelves in the United States in May 2019.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Legit Fish launches traceability software

March 18, 2019 — Legit Fish, a Boston, Massachusetts-based traceability company, is launching a new traceability technology at Seafood Expo North America.

The company, which has partnered with the BASE Auction Company, is unveiling its new tool on 17 March at their SENA19 booth, 289. According to a release from the company, the system will enable vessels to “hail quantities into the auction that can be sold via a real-time cloud-based platform, with transactions clearing simultaneously in milliseconds.”

“Increasing stories around seafood fraud are eroding consumer trust; we’re seeing repetitive cases where seafood is claimed to be from local waters when it is in fact imported,” Michael Carroll, CEO of Legit Fish, said in a release. “The technology we are bringing to the market changes all of that because our traceability system is verified with the official government harvest records. No one else is doing this.”

According to Legit Fish, the software will be able to trace seafood from the dock to the dinner table utilizing cloud-based software that creates chain of custody control, ensuring that the products are traceable throughout their journey.

The debut of the new technology comes just over a week after Oceana released a study showing mislabeling of species is continuing to be a problem. That situation is what Legit Fish is attempting to eradicate, said Carroll.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood Expo North America 2019 gets underway in Boston

March 18, 2019 — It was a weekend of hard work for global seafood product suppliers and processing vendors, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in anticipation of this year’s Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America event, taking place from 17 to 19 March.

Considered to be the largest seafood event in North America, the expo saw 1,329 exhibitors from 49 countries in attendance at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center for opening day on Sunday, 17 March.

More than 256,690 net square feet of exhibit space is being occupied at SENA19, event organizer Diversified Communications said, with new exhibitor participation from the country of Latvia and an array of companies including: Intershell International Corp, Plymouth Rock Oyster Growers, John Nagle Co, Pangea Shellfish Company, Cape Seafoods Inc., North Atlantic Pacific Seafood, Red’s Best, Aquacultural Research Corp., Independent Brazil, Dutch Seafood Company/Foppen/Klaas Puul, Niceland Seafood, and Top Claw Lobster & Seafood Limited.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Legit Fish to Launch Technology That Traces Origin of Seafood

March 16, 2019 — The following was released by Legit Fish:

Legit Fish, provider of a first-of-its-kind seafood traceability technology, is launching its application this weekend that allows an unprecedented level of transparency for consumers while ensuring a seafood’s origin actually matches its packaging. Legit Fish will unveil its new tool at the Seafood Expo North America in Boston on Sunday, March 17th, 2019 at booth 289.

“Increasing stories around seafood fraud are eroding consumer trust; we’re seeing repetitive cases where seafood is claimed to be from local waters when it is in fact imported,” said Michael Carroll, CEO of Legit Fish. “The technology we are bringing to the market changes all of that because our traceability system is verified with the official government harvest records. No one else is doing this.”

Legit Fish is already partnering with the BASE Auction Company, helping it launch the most technologically advanced logistics and auction system in the world with its Groundfish and Sea Scallop business. The system enables vessels to hail quantities into the auction that can be sold via a real-time cloud-based platform, with transactions clearing simultaneously in milliseconds. BASE runs its auctions in two of the most treasured fishing ports in the United States; New Bedford, MA, the most economically significant, and in Gloucester, MA, the country’s oldest.

The traceability software of Legit Fish (www.legitfishinc.com) is able to track seafood from the dock to the dinner table, offering confidence for buyers and leveling the playing field for vessel owners, assuring them that when their product travels down the supply chain, it can’t be substituted with inferior product, and with that, a lower price. Legit Fish does this through a cloud-based software that provides a binding chain of custody control that ensures the product featured meets the claim on the package.

The traceability technology comes at a time when the industry is coming under fire about its truthfulness in packaging. Just last week, the conservation group Oceana put out a report that found 1 in every 3 businesses sold at least one kind of seafood that wasn’t labeled properly, with Snapper (42%) and Sea Bass (55%) having the highest samples that were fraudulent. And a recent investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office found “more than one in four” seafood purchases were mislabeled and “about two-thirds” of the supermarket chains reviewed had at least one instance of mislabeling.

“This type of rigorous trace application will offer domestic fisheries a tool to ensure their products are not being knocked off in the marketplace by imported or even farmed goods,” says Carroll. “Currently there is no other scalable traceability tool that concretely verifies seafood products against the government harvest records.”

When fully implemented, the data offered by Legit Fish can be accessed by seafood retailers, processors, dealers and consumers with the scan of a QR code that provides not only the port where the fish originated, but its species, location, landing dates, and the vessel it came off of.

With this in mind, Legit Fish is attracting interest from discerning retailers who want better assurance and controls over the origin of their products; Legit Fish has already forged a number of partnerships in the industry and is currently rolling out its technology with a retailer.

“We will change the way the seafood industry does business,” said Carroll. “The Legit Fish technology will substantially increase transparency that will benefit both the fisherman and the consumer.”

For more information, please contact:

Michael Carroll

Legit Fish

617-640-8126 (cell)

mike@legitfishinc.com