March 11, 2022 — Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP), a trade group that has made a concerted push to expand the market reach of Alaska pollock in the United States and globally, will spend nearly USD 800,000 (EUR 730,000) on a new marketing campaign.
At its early March meeting, the GAPP Board of Directors approved a nearly USD 4 million (EUR 3.6 million) budget that includes the organization’s first national sustained marketing campaign.
November 4, 2021 — Imitation may be the sincerest form flattery, as the proverb says, but when it comes to plant-based seafood look-alikes, imitation is nothing but controversy.
The seafood industry does not find the continued growth of plant-based seafood alternatives, which the seafood industry says are intentionally masquerading as fish and shellfish to fool consumers, flattering in any way. Rather, it is outright fraud, say seafood producers.
The issue was thrust back into the spotlight last week when the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), the leading US seafood trade association, stepped up its call to stop plant-based seafood manufacturers from labeling their products as seafood and gaining an “unfair marketing advantage.”
NFI President John Connelly, speaking at the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) annual meeting, said the issue is among the most frustrating he has dealt with in the seafood industry over the past five years.
I certainly agree that transparent and accurate labeling is a must for any product, and for sure many companies dance that fine line of marketing and misleading messaging.
July 6, 2021 — The Bering Sea TAC for pollock has been ratcheted back to 1.375 million metric tons — that’s down from last year’s 1.425 million and close to what it was set at in 2019. In the Aleutian Islands harvest area, the quota has been set at 19,000 metric tons, unchanged from last year. For the Gulf of Alaska waters, the TAC fell from the 115,930 metric tons to 113,227 metric tons for 2021.
In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the purchase of $159.4 million in domestic seafood and agricultural products. Of that, seafood will account for $70.9 million. Alaska pollock products have always been high on the list of purchases by the USDA for school lunch and other institutional food programs, and pollock contracts in 2021 will tally up to $20 million.
Also in May, data released by the National Fisheries Institute indicated that pollock pulled ahead of tilapia to rank fourth place in domestic seafood consumption. Though shrimp, salmon and canned tuna continue to rank above pollock, NFI noted that consumption of pollock products increased by a quarter pound per capita from 2018 to 2019. Meanwhile, the NFI research conducted for the Seattle-based Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers found that wild Alaska pollock products comprised 86 percent of that national increase from 2018 to 2019.
May 6, 2021 — The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a bid solicitation for 8.3 million pounds of Alaska pollock fish sticks and fillets for use in the National School Lunch Program and other Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs.
The bid asks for more Alaska Pollock than USDA has ever purchased in an entire year besides 2017, 2019 and 2020, Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) CEO Craig Morris told IntraFish.
The products will be distributed to several states throughout the United States.
Acceptances will be announced by May 26. Deliveries are to be made between July 1 of this year through Feb. 28 of next year.
November 19, 2020 — Expo Online has teamed up with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations to bring you annual updates on West Coast and Alaska fisheries.
This year calls for a detailed roundup like none other we’ve seen — tariffs and covid-19 restrictions conspired to complicate the global marketplace.
Dan Lesh of McKinley Research (formerly McDowell Group) presents for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
October 15, 2020 — In the past year, the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) trade group has made a concerted push to expand the market reach of Alaska pollock both domestically in the United States and globally.
Since enlisting a new board of directors and expanding its annual budget to USD 4 million (EUR 3.4 million) in 2019, the organization has built awareness and demand for its marquee product through the use of the “wild Alaska pollock” tagline.
July 9, 2020 — From two corners of the seafood sector this week came new projects to encourage industry exploration and expansion. Bristol Seafood and the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers each paved the way for new funding streams to promote the U.S. seafood sector’s diversity and growth.
Bristol Seafood announced it opened an office at the New England Ocean Cluster in Portland, Maine, and founded sponsorship of a program to support under-represented blue economy entrepreneurs.
Inclusion in the Blue Economy will provide dedicated workspace at the New England Ocean Cluster House as well as mentorship opportunities for entrepreneurs, focusing on women, people of color, and individuals from non-marine industries who are passionate about building responsible marine-related businesses.
“Innovation and inclusion are two essential parts of our culture,” said Peter Handy, Bristol Seafood’s president and CEO. “Our presence at the New England Ocean Cluster and our sponsorship to support under-represented entrepreneurs aligns with our mission to make seafood America’s favorite protein.”
June 10, 2020 — The nonprofit trade group Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) is trying to determine the best way to market its fish during the coronavirus crisis, which has caused a massive shift in seafood buying preferences globally.
The issue was explored in the most recent webinar in the GAPP’s summer series, “Post-COVID Communications and the Wild Alaska Pollock Toolkit,” which took place on 5 June. According to Caryn Leahy, the vice president of global public relations firm Ketchum, who presented during the webinar, Alaska pollock is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the current situation.
March 30, 2020 — While many in the fishing industry are struggling to sell their catch, one of America’s favorite fish, the Alaskan Pollock, continues to be in high demand. Why? Because the species is used to make many frozen items that show up in grocery stores across the country, such as frozen fish sticks and breaded fish fillets.
Frozen seafood products are in high demand as Americans stock up for the various quarantines in place. Sales have gone up as a result. Seafood Source reports, “Frozen seafood spiked 3.5 percent to around USD 1.1 billion for the week ending on 7 March and rose 4.9 percent for the month ending on 7 March.”
Alaskan Pollock is also used in many fast-casual sandwiches such as the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish. Craig Morris, CEO of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers, said that grocery stores “are doing very well during the current COVID-19 response here and in Europe.” This means that fishermen have plenty of buyers to sell their fish to.
January 7, 2020 — A group of Alaska pollock industry officials arrived earlier this week in Shanghai for a 10-day visit to China as an exploratory trip to appraise opportunities in the country, according to a Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) press release.
The tour, sponsored in large part by a grant from the Emerging Market Department of the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, will also include stops in Qingdao and Beijing.