Saving Seafood

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

Cooke, Martha Stewart partner on value-added seafood range

February 26, 2019 — Diversified seafood group Cooke is partnering with US retail and lifestyle entrepreneur Martha Stewart on a new range of value-added seafood products using raw material from its global farmed and wild supply companies.

Cooke, under its True North Seafood sales arm, is teaming up on the range with Sequential Brands Group, which licenses a range of consumer brands, including Martha Stewart’s, the seafood company told Undercurrent News. The range will launch next month and will be on show at the upcoming Boston seafood show, held in the East Coast US city from March 17-19.

The product line offers a range of True North products accompanied by a Martha Stewart signature butter flavor or spice blend. Packaging will also include an easy to follow recipe created by Stewart’s “test kitchen” team, the company said. These include Atlantic salmon with lemon herb butter; sockeye salmon with miso butter; pollock with a southwest spice blend, and a seafood medley – using pollock, salmon, and bay scallops — with a herb spice blend.

“Knowing where my seafood comes from is very important to me, and I’ve enjoyed and served True North Seafood to family and friends for years,” said Stewart, in a statement.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

GSSA Executive Director Greg DiDomenico to Talk Sustainable Fishing at New York Times Food Conference

September 27, 2016 – The following was released by the Garden State Seafood Association:

TRENTON, N.J. (Garden State Seafood Association) — September 27, 2016 – Today, Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA) Executive Director Greg DiDomenico will discuss sustainable fishing issues at the New York Times’“Food for Tomorrow” conference. The conference, which seeks to “uncover and assess the most important issues and trends affecting the nourishment of our nation and the world,” is hosting a panel on marine issues and fisheries management, titled “Tricky Waters,” addressing “the demand for fish without depleting our oceans.” Joining Mr. DiDomenico on the panel will be Sean T. Barrett, Co-Founder of Dock to Dish and Bren Smith, Owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm and Executive Director of GreenWave.

The GSSA has been at the forefront of promoting sustainable fisheries, while also advocating on behalf of New Jersey fishermen. In 2015, it worked with other fishing groups, environmentalists, and fishery managers at the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to pass the Deep Sea Coral Amendment. This open, transparent, and inclusive effort resulted in new protections nearly 40,000 square miles of Mid-Atlantic corals, and has been praised by both fishermen and conservationists alike.

“The GSSA has always been a force for conservation in the Mid-Atlantic, and an example of how we can balance the real and serious concerns of the commercial fishing industry, with ensuring the future health of our oceans,” said Mr. DiDomenico.

In his remarks, Mr. DiDomenico plans to address the misconceptions surrounding current fishing practices, and to highlight the sustainable nature of U.S. fisheries management and domestically caught seafood. Mr. DiDomenico will also discuss the value of fish as a low-cost protein alternative that will be instrumental in feeding a hungry world.

GSSA leaders have been awarded for their past work on sustainability issues. In 2015, the New York Aquarium recognized Mr. DiDomenico as a Conservation Leader. Ernie Panacek, the President of the GSSA, was also honored in 2015, receiving the Urban Coast Institute’s Regional Ocean Champion Award.

“Food for Tomorrow” will take place from September 26-28 at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York. The event will be streamed live on The New York Times’ website, beginning at 4:35 PM on September 27. Other notable speakers include US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on the Obama Administration’s food policy record, television star Martha Stewart on the future of food, and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney on a recent Philadelphia initiative to tax soda consumption.