Saving Seafood

New eCommerce app hopes to change how buyers access distributors

August 11, 2022 — A group of tech experts is hoping to enhance how the food distribution industry manages its sales supply chain, and seafood companies are already starting to get on board.

Pepper, an eCommerce platform for food distributors, is strictly targeting the business-to-business side of purchasing and ordering products – including seafood. Pepper Co-Founder and CEO Bowie Cheung told SeafoodSource the goal is to bring some of the better parts of how tech has changed things on the consumer side to the business side to streamline processes.

Read the full article at SeaFoodSource

NFI Chair, Seattle Fish CEO Derek Figueroa bullish on seafood industry’s 2021 outlook

February 8, 2021 — Despite the enormous challenges and tragedies that COVID-19 has inflicted upon the industry and the world, new National Fisheries Institute (NFI) Chair Derek Figueroa said the pandemic has been a catalyst for change for seafood.

Figueroa, the president and CEO of Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.-based Seattle Fish Co., told SeafoodSource he is looking forward to “bringing diverse voices together” in his new, one-year position at NFI.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New NFI Chair Highlights Market Data and Expert Insights Available at Virtual GSMC

January 25, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The President and CEO of Seattle Fish Co., Derek Figueroa, is the new Chair of the National Fisheries Institute. Figueroa helms the Denver-based seafood distributor that boasts more than a hundred years in business.

“Seattle Fish has a legacy of using technology and engagement to do more in the seafood space,” said Figueroa. “In 1918 this company created a cold chain system that used rail cars, sawdust and ice to transport fresh seafood to the landlocked state of Colorado. We were getting customers what they needed. That’s what NFI is doing with the Virtual Global Seafood Market Conference. We can’t meet in person, but the industry needs the data and insight we’ve come to rely on from GSMC. So we’re doing it virtually.”

The Virtual Global Seafood Market Conference runs from February 1st to the 5th for two hours each day. The GSMC Webinar Series lasts all year with biweekly offerings providing species-specific data and markets focused dialogue. Attendees can register for the GSMC Bundle package here.

Virtual GSMC will feature plenary presentations and sessions on Retail, Food Service, the Economy, Alternative Proteins and more. Keynote speakers from IRI, 210 Analytics, Datassentail, CattleFax, Urner Barry, Rabobank, and Wells Fargo will detail market shocks and recovery timelines. The program will also feature C-suite perspectives from leaders in retailer and foodservice, as well as an address from the man who knows a thing or two about pivoting, Bo Jackson.

As part of his just released video message, Figueroa notes the benefits of a virtual conference and webinar series include the fact that producers recognize, during a pandemic, things change by the “week, by the day, even by the minute.”

Derek Figueroa will address the Virtual GSMC on Friday February 5th with his state of the industry address.

SFP’s 2018 Annual Report shows sustainability progress

August 14, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fishery Partnership (SFP) today released its annual report for 2018, which demonstrates significant advances in fishery improvement—the report can be found online as a PDF download.”

Among other signs of progress, SFP notes in the report that the number of fishery improvement projects (FIPs) supported by SFP’s supply chain roundtables (SRs) has gone up from 45 in 2016 to 63 as of last year. Corporate participation in those SRs has increased as well, from 97 companies in 2016 to 150 companies in 2018. In addition, the report indicates global volume covered by FIPs has gone from 3.4 million metric tons in 2016 to 7.2 million in 2018.

The new report also discusses SFP’s Target 75 initiative, gives a recap of the highlights of SFP’s work from 2018, and describes work SFP did in 2018 in the aquaculture sector. We also noted five companies—Beaver Street Fisheries, Fortune Fish & Gourmet, Jealsa, Seattle Fish Co., and Tesco—that demonstrated support for SFP and the initiative in 2018.

Read the full release here

New Sustainable Seafood Reporting Application Available for Businesses

September 28, 2015 — FORT COLLINS, Colorado — The following was released by FishChoice:

New Sustainable Seafood Reporting Application Available for Businesses

Online Application Enables Businesses to Self-Assess the Sustainability of their Seafood

Powered by FishChoice.com, in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program and Seattle Fish Co., the new Sustainable Seafood Calculator application enables businesses to self-assess and track the sustainability of their seafood.

“We partnered with FishChoice.com to create the Seafood Calculator to allow our customers to easily and accurately rate the sustainability of their seafood,” says Derek Figueroa, COO of Seattle Fish Co. “The Seafood Calculator is a valuable and straightforward tool that makes it easy for Seattle Fish Co. to deliver up-to-date information to our customers and allow them to drive real change.”

Chefs, retailers, distributors, and others register for a free account and can immediately start creating one or more lists of their seafood inventory. At any time, users can calculate sustainability where they will be directed to a dashboard with a table of their seafood inventory matched with corresponding up-to-date sustainability information. The dashboard also includes a collection of charts summarizing their seafood categories by overall sustainability and by individual sustainability categories. Additionally, users of the application receive email notifications when there are updates to the sustainability of any of their items.

Currently, over 500 companies have tested the application and use it to track and report the sustainability of their seafood. Chefs are some of the main businesses benefiting from the application. According to Sheila Lucero, Executive Chef, Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar, “We are committed to our sustainability practices and being able to utilize the Seafood Calculator has been a beneficial tool to our chefs.” The sustainable seafood calculator can be found at http://www.fishchoice.com/sustainableseafoodcalculator/. 

About FishChoice.com

FishChoice, Inc. (FCI) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is funded by private foundations.  FishChoice works directly with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program, Ocean Wise, NOAA Fisheries, the Marine Stewardship Council, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Global Aquaculture Alliance, and Fair Trade USA in providing science-based, up-to-date sustainable seafood information and tools for businesses. For more information please visit http://www.fishchoice.com/press-room. 

View the PDF of the release here