July 30, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new massive bid request for 7.942 million pounds of frozen Alaska pollock will push the agency’s pollock purchases to near-record levels.
With the latest acquisition, the agency will have purchased nearly 18.3 million pounds of Alaskan pollock for the fiscal year 2021, Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) CEO Craig Morris told SeafoodSource.
May 5, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking Alaska pollock suppliers to bid on a contract for 8.325 million pounds of the fish – the third-largest bid invitation for Alaskan pollock in the agency’s history.
The USDA is also requesting bids on nearly 2.7 million pounds of catfish and said in a pre-solicitation notice that it plans to purchase canned tuna, haddock fillets, ocean perch fillets, wild salmon fillets, and canned pink salmon.
March 10, 2021 — 7-Eleven has rolled out Wild Alaskan Pollock Fish Bites for the Lenten season in a limited-time capacity.
The offering includes five bite-sized morsels of herb panko-crusted Alaskan pollock filets served on a skewer, with a side of tartar sauce for dipping. The bites are priced at USD 3.69 (EUR 3.10) daily, and USD 3 (EUR 2.52) on Fridays for 7Rewards members.
March 1, 2021 — A meteoric global rise of frozen Alaska pollock consumption during the course of 2020 could not make up for an overall decrease in pollock consumption by US consumers compared to the previous year.
That’s largely due to reduced imports as well as a smaller catch for domestic product during the year. Alaska pollock producers ended B season last year leaving nearly 65,000 fish in the water due to several challenging factors, including less-valuable fish sizes and a biomass widely dispersed across the grounds
While consumption declined by 11 percent in 2020 to 0.873 pounds per person from 2019 levels of 0.983 pounds per person, the overall US per capita consumption of pollock was still well above 2018’s level of 0.717 pounds per person, according to the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers’ (GAPP).
“Despite this slight decline in 2020, the jump in the percentage of domestically-caught fish makes it clear that US consumers are trying, loving and gravitating towards our Wild Alaska Pollock like never before,” said GAPP CEO Craig Morris.
July 21, 2020 — As the number of nations that have been able to successfully manage the COVID-19 pandemic increases, positioning seafood items like pollock as a value proposition will become increasingly important, according to the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP).
That perspective was shared earlier this month during GAPP’s fitfth webinar in its summer series. The webinar – titled “COVID-19 Consumer Insights: A Look Forward” – was hosted by Bill Romania and Sharon Ripps of R3 Consulting, and addressed the COVID-19 situation and its impact on consumer spending habits.
July 17, 2020 — The Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) has announced new partnerships with Denny’s, Gorton’s Seafoods, and New England Seafood Company, according to a 16 July press release.
Denny’s plans to offer pollock fish and chips as well as a pollock fish sandwich; Gorton’s plans to introduce recipes and an ad campaign to encourage customers to try Alaska pollock; and New England Seafood is introducing a pollock tenderloin – with an accompanying ad campaign – to customers in the United Kingdom.
February 11, 2020 — The Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) is seeking proposals for its first European Partnership Program, which are due on 15 March, according to a GAPP press release.
The European Partnership Program is an expansion of GAPP’s established North American Partnership Program. GAPP began soliciting proposals to drum up demand for Alaskan pollock in Europe after last year’s Groundfish Forum.
November 14, 2019 — After growing sales and awareness of its brand via a partnership with a celebrity chef and the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP), Gorton’s is unveiling new products that appeal to millennials and other key demographic groups.
Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Gorton’s partnered with restauranteur Antoni Porowski, star of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” earlier this year to create new recipes for Gorton’s and buzz for wild Alaska pollock. GAPP helped fund the partnership with a portion of USD 1 million (EUR 909,000) from its North American Partnership Program, which awarded 12 seafood suppliers in its second round of funding.
January 25, 2019 — A USD 30 million (EUR 26.5 million) commitment from the United States government to buy Alaska Pollock will help mitigate the effects of the U.S.-China trade war on producers.
Due to the U.S. government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture notified the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) via phone that it will soon publish a solicitation so that Alaska pollock suppliers can bid on USD 30 million worth of deliveries to food banks across the country.
The USD 30 million solicitation is in addition to the USD 7.6 million (EUR 6.7 million) that USDA is already purchasing to support the National School Lunch Program, GAPP CEO Craig Morris said.
Morris said the purchase was a win for the U.S. pollock sector.
“We should be really proud that people who are in need are going to get a really nutritious product, and it is great for our industry, which has had challenging times,” Morris said. “There is a lot of demand for our product and this announcement … shows that we are going to have even more demand than a couple of days ago.”
Last fall Alaska legislators pushed for the USD 30 million (EUR 26.5 million) purchase to help offset losses from the U.S.- China trade war, and the news is finally official.