Saving Seafood

Gloucester Times: Seafood industry still rewards hard work, innovation

March 20, 2018 — There’s no disputing these are difficult times for New England fishermen, with ever-tightening regulations, a diminishing catch and the added uncertainty brought on by climate change.

Among the dour news, however, there are hints of hope and optimism among those who feel the nation’s oldest industry still has something to offer.

Take, for example, the city of Gloucester’s outreach at the Seafood Expo North America in Boston earlier this month. The show, which attracts almost 22,000 seafood buyers and processors from more than 100 countries, is seemingly made for folks willing to hustle. And Gloucester was hustling.

For the last four years, the city has used the expo as a way to market itself to the rest of the country and across the world. And the Gloucester Fresh branding effort has paid off, most notably two years ago, when the Ninety Nine Restaurant chain agreed to feature Gloucester-landed haddock on its menu.

This year, the Gloucester crew was touting monkfish, an ugly creature that is nevertheless delicious when prepared by Cape Ann chefs, with a VIP tasting for about 75 buyers and processors. Meanwhile, Sal Di Stefano, the city’s economic development director, was pitching lobsters to a pair of South Korean visitors.

“They told me that all they do is buy Canadian lobsters, but they keep hearing more and more about American lobster,” Di Stefano told reporter Sean Horgan.

“We explained that American lobster is better and that Massachusetts lobsters are the best of the American species. Then we had them talk with (lobsterman) Mark Ring and they were thrilled to actually meet a lobsterman. We wouldn’t have had those interactions if we weren’t here.”

These relationships matter. The connection between Gloucester’s ocean-to-table deal with the Ninety Nine chain continues today, even as the local processors supplying the fish have changed.

“Chef George (Tagarelis) and I have been in our restaurants all week long with general managers and kitchen managers training on our brand-new spring menu, which begins April 2 and features ‘Gloucester Fresh’ simply seasoned fresh haddock,” the chain’s president, Charlie Noyes, said last week. “I’m sure our guests at the Ninety Nine will be as excited as we are that we continue to serve this local favorite.”

Indeed, change is everywhere, even at 170-year-old Gorton’s of Gloucester, one of the nation’s oldest continually operating businesses.

Even as it outlasts the competition, Gorton’s, with 425 employees, has remained an iconic part of the seafood industry, with much of its recent success attributed to trying to “connect with customers in unique ways,” Judson Reis, the company’s president, told members of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce earlier this month.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Gloucester receives $20K to help city sell seafood

January 23, 2017 — The city has received a $20,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and plans to use the funds to bolster its Gloucester Fresh marketing campaign for locally landed seafood.

“These funds will enable us to continue our outreach efforts on behalf of the Gloucester Fresh campaign,” said Sal Di Stefano, economic development director for the city. “It really came as an extension of the “Local Foods, Local Places” initiative we’ve already engaged in with the USDA.”

Bolstering the Gloucester Fresh campaign may be the short-term goal, but Di Stefano said the city hopes the $20,000 can be used to leverage larger sums that would enable it to launch a product development test kitchen.

The kitchen, at a site to be determined, would be operated by a partnership of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association and SnapChef.

“It would be a seafood testing and demonstration kitchen that could be utilized by companies for developing new products that could ultimately be marketed under the Gloucester Fresh brand,” Di Stefano said. “It also will be used for workforce training for the culinary industry.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Fish processor seeking tax subsidy from Gloucester

October 13th, 2016 — National Fish & Seafood, a tenant at Americold’s sprawling waterfront property in East Gloucester, is looking to buy the facility.

National Fish has approached the city about supporting its application for a Tax Increment Financing subsidy. The TIF is part of its plans to purchase the two-building site at 159 East Main St. from a real estate subsidiary of Americold called ART Mortgage Borrower Propco.

The sale price included in a circulating draft of the purchase-and-sale agreement, according to Gloucester Economic Development Director Sal Di Stefano, will be in the neighborhood of $4 million. The property and structures carry an assessed value of $8.28 million.

“They’ve approached us about supporting their application for a TIF and we’re in the very early stages of that process,” Di Stefano said. “We’re always happy to work with any company that is looking to expand and invest here in Gloucester, especially on the waterfront.”

National Fish employs about 155 at the site, where it processes and markets more than 40,000 tons of frozen seafood annually under the National Fish, Matlaw’s and Schooner brands. The property, along with the Gloucester Marine Railways, are the last two East Gloucester waterfront parcels still within the city’s Designated Port Area. Fifty percent of properties in the DPA are required to be dedicated for marine industrial uses. 

National Fish President Todd Provost did not return phone calls Wednesday seeking comment. An Americold official declined comment.

The East Gloucester property stretches over more than 4 acres on the eastern shore of Smith Cove, supporting two buildings with a combined area of 171,653 square feet, according to city tax records.

The larger of the two warehouse buildings — at 109,941 square feet — is used for cold storage and was built in 1961. The smaller warehouse, 65,712 square feet, is used for processing and was completed in 1962. The site also includes 14,800 square feet of docks.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Daily Times