Rebecca Martello has been the executive director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA) in Sitka, Alaska, for the past two years.
SeafoodSource: What should people know about the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association?
Martello: Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association is a nonprofit that works to enhance the value of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery for the benefit of its members – the Bristol Bay drift fleet. State statute made the creation of RSDAs possible for the purposes of promoting the seafood of a specific region in Alaska. Unlike the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, which represents Alaska seafood as a whole and cannot distinguish regional branding, the RSDAs were created with that very thing in mind. So, more than 10 years ago, our fleet voted to organize the Bristol Bay RSDA. By doing so, they elected to assess themselves a one percent tax on the ex-vessel value of their catch to fund this organization.
SeafoodSource: What is your role at BBRSDA and how has it evolved?
Martello: My role as executive director is to oversee daily operations of the organization and carry out the projects approved by our board, which consists of seven members who are Bristol Bay driftnet permit holders and elected by the fleet. While managing daily operations is my primary role, it’s certainly not my only role. I also try to provide the board with sound information to assist in vetting projects, I work to build relationships and increase collaborative efforts with industry stakeholders, I provide outreach to the fleet and oversee all of our projects and ultimately ensure that our efforts work toward achieving our strategic goals.
SeafoodSource: What does it take to be successful in this job?
Martello: As any executive director will tell you, the ED’s role in a nonprofit is not a glamorous one. It’s long hours, a lot of work and, in the fishing business, tensions can run high. To be successful in this job you need to be willing deal with all that. And you need to be passionate about the mission. I grew up in Bristol Bay, so many of these fishermen I’ve known for years. I take to heart the fact that they fund this organization – and my paycheck. Whenever I am vetting a project, I always consider whether it’s a good investment of our fishermen’s dollars; it is important to always remain cognizant of truly where our money comes from. Most importantly, you need to make good on your promises. When you’re accountable to a fleet of 1,800 fishermen, your integrity matters. This is also critical for relationship building, which is an important part of this job. If people can’t trust you, they won’t want to do business with you—or at least not for very long.
SeafoodSource: What is BBRSDA focusing on for 2018?
Martello: Our focus looking ahead to 2018 and beyond is to continue to build a regional brand for Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, to continue to work toward fleet-wide adoption of high-quality harvesting and handling practices, and ensuring a sustainable fishery.
SeafoodSource: Looking to your organization’s five-year strategic plan that runs through 2018, where does BBRSDA stand with achieving its strategies? Anything of which you’re particularly proud? And how are you revising the plan for the next five years?
Martello: We just wrapped up the final year of our five-year strategic plan and have already drafted a plan to outline our strategic priorities for the next five years. I would say we’ve come a long way on the marketing and quality fronts, which have been a priority since 2013. These will also remain strategic priorities, along with sustainability and strengthening the organization, for the next five years.
On specific progress in reaching our goals: to activate our brand we’ve engaged every level of the supply chain from fisherman to processor, through distribution and retail and we’ve enjoyed much positive feedback and increasing engagement from those sectors. We’re also working to support industry efforts to continually improve quality, including resources to increase capacity for chilling at the point of harvest and providing outreach to the fleet about ways to improve their bottom line by increasing quality on deck.
I’m, of course, very proud of how far we’ve come with the Bristol Bay brand. When I stepped into this role two years ago, we were just beginning to talk about creating a brand for Bristol Bay. The brand is still in its infancy and the early acceptance and use of the brand by direct marketers, retailers and processors speaks well of its appeal to consumers. Two years ago, Bristol Bay was rarely called out on packaging or at retail; as of this year, we’ve partnered with various distributors and retailers across the country and Bristol Bay has now been promoted in more than 400 stores. Additionally, and thanks to a partnership with Bristol Bay processors, the Bristol Bay brand was featured on some 200,000 packages of Bristol Bay sockeye this season.
