Saving Seafood

Despite obstacles, US restaurants still banking on seafood for growth

April 18, 2025 — Though Americans’ economic concerns are driving many consumers to make more meals at home, U.S. restaurants are still banking on seafood for growth, and several seafood restaurant chains are expanding throughout the country as a result.

The prevalence of shellfish grew 3 percent on U.S. menus year over year in 2024, driven mainly by strong growth from shrimp, according to market research firm Circana. Servings of “other seafood” rose 1 percent due to strong growth from calamari, but fish dishes fell 3 percent during the year.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

RHODE ISLAND: RI fishermen back legislation that could make calamari cheaper

April 2, 2025 — The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) said climate change is bringing more squid to Rhode Island than ever before, but the rules about how much they can catch are made by out-of-state regulators.

“We have the highest amount of landings here in Rhode Island and we don’t even sit on the council that makes the rules for them,” said Jason McNamee, the deputy director of the DEM’s Bureau of Natural Resources.

He said squid used to be more of a mid-Atlantic species. Yet while the species has migrated north, the regulations are still being created by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The council includes members representing states from New York to North Carolina, but not Rhode Island.

Read the full article at Yahoo! News

American Food Partners acquires Rhode Island calamari firm The Town Dock

March 21, 2025 — Narragansett, Rhode Island, U.S.A.-based American Food Partners (AFP) has acquired seafood supplier NGC, Inc., which conducts business under the name The Town Dock, and its affiliated fleet of vessels.

The acquisition of The Town Dock, a supplier specializing in squid and calamari, reflects AFP’s “growing presence in the U.S. market,” AFP said in a press release. By adding The Town Dock, AFP now has several seafood brands in its portfolio, including SeaFresh USA and Handrigan Seafood.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Squid games: The next Brexit battleground

November 12, 2024 — Partial to a serving of lemon-drizzled fried calamari rings while kicking back in a Mediterranean seaside bar? They’re about to be served with a hefty dollop of politics.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing pressure to win concessions from the European Union over hefty post-Brexit trading tariffs placed on squid and other food items entering the continent from the Falkland Islands.

Behind the scenes, the British overseas territory has been furiously lobbying the new U.K. Labour government to ensure trade barriers on squid imports are included in upcoming “reset” talks with Brussels.

Starmer has promised to do “everything we can” to reduce trade tariffs, while describing the relationship with the Falklands as “personal” (his uncle had a brush with death during the 1982 war with Argentina over the territory.)

But politicians and officials in the Falklands administration are concerned they could be overlooked if Brussels uses the islands’ demands as a bargaining chip to win concessions in other areas British voters may find unpalatable.

After all, the Falkland Islands (population: 3,662) are nearly 8,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Britain and of fading importance to many in the U.K.

Read the full article at Politico

Who’s hungry for squid fins? The University of Maine is betting you will be

January 10, 2023 — When most people think calamari, they think of breaded rings with dipping sauce, a staple appetizer at many restaurants. What most folks may not know is that a large portion of squid caught for food is usually tossed out in the trash. Now, a joint project between a Rhode Island-based seafood company and the University of Maine at Orono is looking to address a major source of food waste associated with squid by preparing it in new ways.

“About half of it is usually disposed of in landfills,” said Denise Skonberg, a professor of food science at the university who is heading up the project.

Squid have fins which, while often cut off and discarded, are just as edible as any other part of the animal. The university’s project aims to prove to people that they can be just as delicious. The two-year project seeks to develop new products made from squid fins that can be mass-produced and frozen for foodservice companies that already carry and sell the calamari.

The project is a joint effort between the university and The Town Dock, a wholesale calamari product company based in Narragansett, Rhode Island.

Read the full article at Spectrum News

The Town Dock expands, redesigns calamari line

January 26, 2022 — Calamari supplier The Town Dock recently expanded and redesigned its retail product line.

The Narragansett, Rhode Island, U.S.A.-based company updated its packaging, including adding a recipe on the back of each box with a QR code taking consumers directly to a recipe video showing step-by-step cooking instructions.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Lund’s Fisheries Announces New Hires as Part of New Investments in Consumer Brands

January 12, 2021 — The following was released by Lund’s Fisheries:

Lund’s Fisheries is excited to announce the hiring of four new senior executives and two additional sales and marketing staff.  The hires are the company’s latest investment in sustainable seafood production and marketing through its Lund’s Fisheries and Sea Legend brands.

“These new hires, in our sales, cold storage/logistics and quality assurance departments, are key to the company’s focus on continued growth of its production capacity and sales of innovative seafood products in the retail and food service sectors,” said Wayne Reichle, President of Lund’s Fisheries.

Joining the company are Mark Fratiello as its new Director of Sales and Marketing, Mike Wallace and John Fee as National Business Development Managers, Federico Sehringer as Compliance Officer and Quality Assurance Director, Joshua Farinella as Director of Compliance and Quality Assurance, and Gene Taormina as General Manager at Shoreline Freezers, located in Bridgeton, New Jersey.

Mark comes to Lund’s with an extensive sales background, including 10 years of experience in seafood sales and marketing.  In his role at Lund’s, Mark will lead the company’s seasoned sales team, comprised of Jeff Miller, Mike Wallace, Rick Marino and John Fee, to grow their fresh and frozen scallop, calamari, shrimp, finfish and value-added lines, working with a national broker to drive national sales to broadline distributors, restaurants, wholesale distributors, and retail.

“I’m excited to be with a company that’s looking to expand its reach in volume, sales channels, and infrastructure,” said Mark Fratiello. “It’s great to get in on the ground floor to help build the brands, and create new opportunities for the company to grow.  Lund’s investments in vessels and shoreside infrastructure provide an incredible foundation to build successful national seafood programs and bring consumers direct to the source.”

With its Lund’s Fisheries, Seafood Market and Sea Legend brands, Lund’s Fisheries is already a leading provider of sustainable, wild-caught sea scallops, calamari and finfish; the company harvested over 75 million pounds of seafood last year alone. Atlantic sea scallops and East Coast squid fisheries are certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, which is an important selling point for consumers in a market increasingly interested in sustainability.  Additionally Lund’s is one of just a few domestic processors that clean calamari domestically, and offers customers products that have been both caught and processed in the U.S.

“Onboarding a national broker with a company that has more than 65 years of vertically integrated seafood experience is an exciting time in my career and a great opportunity to achieve Lund’s Fisheries strategic goals,” said Mike Wallace.

“I am happy to be associated with Lund’s, a company focused on sustainable fishing practices and centrally located in the Mid Atlantic, and geared towards producing the highest quality seafood for the food service industry,” said John Fee.

Federico and Joshua will be part of an expanded quality assurance team, where they will ensure that the products processed at our SQF-certified facilities continue to meet all regulations and standards, and that the high quality of our consumer products are maintained. Both bring years of experience in quality control to Lund’s. Federico has 18 years of food safety and quality control, both in the U.S. and Argentina. Joshua has 14 years of experience in several quality assurance roles.

“I’ve worked in retail, storage and distribution, and production. I’m glad to have the opportunity to work with a company that is able to do all of these things under one roof,” said Federico Sehringer.

“I’m ready to help the company take things to the next level,” said Joshua Farinella. “We have a strong foundation and reputation for quality to build on, and the right building blocks for continued success.”

While 2020 has been challenging for many, Lund’s Fisheries has continued investing in growing shoreside infrastructure to support sustainable fisheries, fishing vessels, and generational relationships with fishing families home-ported in Cape May, New Jersey. In mid-2021, Lund’s looks to break ground on a new 90,000 square foot cold and dry storage addition to its Shoreline Freezers facility. This investment will include additional processing space as well, which will help facilitate growth in sales.

“Lund’s methodical approach, vision and investment in state of the art equipment and facilities will advance the company’s distribution of sustainable seafood,” said Gene Taormina.

With production facilities in New Jersey, Massachusetts and California, 19 fishing vessels owned directly by the principals of the company, as well as the many independent owner/operated vessels the company works with, Lund’s welcomes its new team members and looks forward to continued growth in the harvest, production and marketing of sustainable seafood.

To Further the ‘Calamari Comeback,’ Rhode Island Delegation is Angling to Give Ocean State Fishermen a Greater Say on Squid Quotas

October 21, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Jack Reed (D-RI):

In an effort to give Rhode Island fisherman a voice and voting representation on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), which manages some of the most important fish stocks for the state’s commercial fishing industry – chief among them squid, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and U.S. Representatives James Langevin and David Cicilline, today announced the reintroduction of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Fairness Act.  The bill would add Rhode Island to the list of seven states with voting representation on the MAFMC, a regional management board that establishes fishery management rules for stocks primarily caught in federal waters adjacent to the mid-Atlantic coast.

“This is an issue of fairness.  The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is a key decision making body that determines what happens off the coast of Rhode Island, but our state doesn’t have a seat or say right now.  Our fishermen deserve appropriate representation on this council.  Mid-Atlantic-regulated stocks now represent the majority of landings for Rhode Island commercial fishermen.  It is time that our state has formal representation on this council and this legislation will ensure they get it,” said Senator Reed, who has been pushing this issue since 2005.

“As climate change heats up the oceans, fish that once lived in the warmer mid-Atlantic have migrated north to the waters off New England,” said Senator Whitehouse.  “We’re fighting to get Rhode Island fishermen more of a say in the rules for catching fish that are now plentiful off our coast.”

“Rhode Island’s fishermen must have a voice in the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s decisions, which increasingly affect the future of Rhode Island’s fisheries,” said Congressman Langevin, lead author of the House bill. “Our state has a proud history of providing quality seafood for our nation, but climate change and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continue to threaten our fishing industry. As the Mid-Atlantic Council confronts these pressing challenges, we are reintroducing the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Fairness Act to ensure Rhode Island has a seat at the table.”

“Getting a seat at the MAFMC table would be a major win for Rhode Island’s fishermen,” said Congressman Cicilline. “The loss of restaurant revenue during this pandemic has devastated our commercial fishing and seafood industries. Rhode Island fishermen have worked hard to overcome these challenges this year, and including them on the Council will give them an even better opportunity to succeed.”

The catch of Rhode Island commercial fishermen represents a significant percentage of commercial landings of the Mid-Atlantic fishery, and is greater than most of the states represented on the Council.  According to data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), between 2014 and 2018, Rhode Island accounted for approximately a quarter of the commercial landings by value from stocks under the MAFMC’s sole jurisdiction.

According to a 2019 report from NOAA’s commercial landings database: There were 32 million pounds of squid landed by Rhode Island fishermen with a value of $31 million.  This represents about 40 percent of the state’s total commercial fisheries landings by pounds and 28 percent of total landings value.

Without representation on the MAFMC, Rhode Island cannot participate fully in development of fishery management plans for Mid-Atlantic stocks, many of which are crucial to the Rhode Island seafood economy.

The Rhode Island Fishermen Fairness Act would add two places for Rhode Island representation to the 21 member Council.  One seat would be appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce under recommendations from Rhode Island’s Governor.  The second seat would be filled by Rhode Island’s principal state official with marine fishery management responsibility.  To accommodate these new members, the MAFMC would increase in size from 21 voting members to 23.

Rhode Island touts its ‘calamari comeback’ in Democratic convention

August 20, 2020 — Squid made up most of the 48 million pounds landed at Point Judith, R.I., during 2018, a year when the port brought in $64 million, according to the latest National Marine Fisheries Service statistics.

So when the covid-19 pandemic shut down restaurants around the country – and with them most demand for fried calamari, the ubiquitous casual-dining appetizer – the Rhode Island seafood industry took a huge hit.

But fishermen and their supporters in state government regrouped, with a new licensing system to allow fishermen to sell directly to customers as “our restaurant and fishing industry have been decimated” by the lockdowns, state Democratic Party chairman Joe McNamara told the national television audience during the Tuesday evening broadcast of the national Democratic presidential convention.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Rhode Island won the roll call with a platter of calamari and a tribute to the state appetizer

August 19, 2020 — Rhode Island won the roll call.

State Democratic Party Chairman Joseph McNamara highlighted the state’s official appetizer during the roll call of the largely virtual Democratic National Convention Tuesday. McNamara stood on Oakland Beach in Warwick behind Iggy’s Boardwalk alongside John Bordieri, the executive chef of the Rhode Island seafood mainstay, holding a platter laden with Rhode Island-style calamari — a mix of battered-and-fried squid, sliced banana peppers, and olive oil dressing.

“Rhode Island, the Ocean State, where our restaurant and fishing industry have been decimated by this pandemic, are lucky to have a Governor, Gina Raimondo, whose program lets our fishermen sell their catches directly to the public, and our state appetizer, calamari, is available in all 50 states,” McNamara said.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe