Saving Seafood

Contentious Pike Place Fish Market trademark infringement case set for trial

February 3, 2024 — A U.S. federal judge set a trial date of 24 March 2024 for the contentious trademark infringement lawsuit brought against Pike Place Fish Market (PPFM) – the iconic fresh seafood market inside Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. – by the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA).

In a lawsuit filed in September 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, PDA, which manages the market, alleged PPFM breached its lease agreement by illegally using the market’s name to market smoked salmon products across the country.

Read the full article SeafoodSource

Lawsuit alleges iconic Pike Place Fish Market guilty of trademark infringement

September 12, 2023 — Pike Place Fish Market (PPFM), the iconic fresh seafood market inside Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., is facing a trademark infringement lawsuit.

The Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA), which manages the market, claims PPFM it is illicitly using its name to advertise products nationwide without PDA’s permission.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Fishing industry among the hardest hit by COVID-19

December 17, 2020 — If you’re eating seafood in the US, there is a good chance it came through Seattle. Data from 2017 show more than 150 million pounds of seafood worth nearly $500 million came through the city on the sound. But COVID-19 is changing everything.

A new study published in the Journal of Fish and Fisheries found that seafood imports, exports, and catches were all down around 40% compared to 2019. A colossal decline.

“We were scared, just like everybody. Not only with the health concerns and people getting sick, and then financially we just bought the business a couple years ago from our boss and it was pretty quiet, pretty sleepy down here,” said Ryan Reese, one of the owners of Pike Place Fish Market.

Just like everyone else, they’ve had to adjust during the pandemic.

“We’ve converted our whole operation like a little shipping factory and so we’ve really changed our focus from over the counter service to trying really hard to drive our online presence,” said Reese.

Read the full story at FOX 17

Alaska’s Copper River fishing season kicks off in a year like no other

May 15, 2020 — An Alaska commercial fishing season unlike any other kicked off in Cordova on Thursday.

Normally, the Copper River gillnet season, the first salmon fishery to open in the state, is known for high-priced fish and celebrity-level fanfare: One of the first fish to be caught is flown to Seattle via Alaska Airlines jet, and greeted with a red carpet photo opportunity.

From there, plump ruby fillets of Copper River salmon typically fetch astronomical prices at fine dining restaurants and markets. Last year, Copper River king salmon sold for $75 per pound, a record, at Seattle’s famed Pike Place Fish Market.

In this pandemic year, things are different all around: The Alaska Airlines first fish photo op will still happen, but the festivities have been tamped down and six-foot distancing and masks are now required. Instead of a cooking contest pitting Seattle chefs against each other, a salmon bake for workers at Swedish Hospital in Ballard is planned.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Seafood retailers increase online orders as coronavirus restrictions expand

March 17, 2020 — Crowds have thinned at Seattle’s famed Pike Place Fish Market, as fears of the spread of coronavirus are keeping more and more consumers home.

The normal scrum of phone-wielding tourists surrounding the typically boisterous fish market was practically absent over the weekend, but Anders Miller, one of the market’s four co-owners, said the drop in foot traffic has coincided with a spike in online orders.

Read the full story at Seafood Source