Clackamas, Oregon, U.S.A.-based Pacific Seafood said it contributed positively to better fishing practices, food safety standards, and the environment in 2020, according to its latest annual report.
The 64-page annual report outlines Pacific Seafood’s efforts to combat COVID-19 in its facilities. According to report, Pacific Seafoods followed strict protocols to mitigate the virus, including temperature and health checks, ramped-up sanitation protocols, masking, staggered shifts, and social distancing measures.
“Pacific Seafood had a special responsibility to stay open and operating during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the communities we serve had access to food. When the supply chain was breaking down for many protein sources, our team members took great pride that we were still able to deliver fresh/healthy proteins to grocery stores around the country keeping families nourished when they needed it most,” the report said.
The company registered several COVID-19 outbreaks over the course of last year in three different Oregon plants. The Pacific Seafood plant in Warrenton, Oregon, was temporarily shut down in September 2020 after 94 of the 265 workers tested positive for the virus, and experienced a second outbreak in March 2021.
In order to help combat food insecurity related to the pandemic, the report said that Pacific Seafoods and partners Snake River Farms and the Retherford family donated over USD 3 million (EUR 2.5 million) in proteins, including Wagyu steaks and rockfish, to local food banks, and made donations to 160 local nonprofits.
“The communities where we operate have always been there for and this was our opportunity to show our appreciation. From our family to yours, we want to say thank you for your support as our customers and partners, and we are humbled by the chance to give back,” Pacific Seafood President and CEO Frank Dulcich said in the report.
The company also reopened a small processing plant in Brookings, Oregon, adding 34 jobs.
“Pacific Seafood team members responsibly and safely came together to stay open and operating during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure a constant supply of high quality, great tasting food. Not only did we fulfill that responsibility, we expanded our product offerings and opened new facilities. I’m so proud of our company’s commitment and vertical integration which enables us to not only deliver fresh, healthy proteins around the world, but to support and give back to our communities and partners,” Dulcich said.
On a national level, Pacific Seafood “worked to assemble a national coalition of seafood industry participants to secure USD 600 million [EUR 500 million] of assistance to fishery-related businesses that suffered a revenue loss of 35 percent or greater due to COVID-19,” according to a press release.
The report also highlights Pacific Seafood’s waste-reduction efforts, saying the company processed nearly 100 percent of its “raw protein (cutting scraps, bones, shells) into 13 million pounds of useable seafood meal and oil, preventing 80 million pounds of fish waste from entering U.S. landfills” in 2020.
The company also announced recently that former U.S. Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR) has joined its board of directors, effective May 2021. Walden will chair the board's Government and Regulatory Affairs Committee, assiting its advocacy efforts on behalf of the seafood industry.
Walden spent 30 years in state and federal office, and recently retired after 22 years of reprsenting Oregonians in the U.S. Congress.
“Greg’s passion for rural communities and proven track-record of finding workable solutions to complex problems make him a natural fit for our Board,” Dulcich said. “He is already intimately familiar with our business and the various agencies and regulations that impact it so will be able to immediately hit the ground running.”
Photo courtesy of Pacific Seafood
