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Securing a sustainable future – technological advances in seafood digitalization
A Look Inside the Fast-Growing Cod-Farming Industry
Special Shrimp, Special Markets: Inside Gava Foods’ Quest to Build a Panamanian Wild Shrimp Brand
The State of FIPs in 2020–A Briefing for Seafood Businesses
How Do We Increase Consumption in the U.S.– Is It Time to Revisit the Idea of a National Seafood Council?
The Rapidly Changing Future of Selling Seafood at Retail
Moderator: Maddie Kearns, SeafoodSource.com
Panelists:
John Connelly, National Fisheries Institute NFI
Sam Galetti, Southwind Foods/Great American Seafood Import Co
Plant-based seafood analog products are proliferating in North America and globally. Some traditional seafood suppliers have looked upon the emerging product segment as an opportunity for new growth, while others in the industry remain skeptical of its classification and positioning in the marketplace. This panel session explores these various viewpoints, from seafood suppliers stepping into plant-based analog product development themselves to those partnering with alternative protein food-makers. How might seafood and plant-based alternatives coexist? Where do the categories connect, and where do they diverge? What kind of labeling is needed for this analog?
Speaker: Mark DiDomenico, Datassential
Mark will draw from Datassential's extensive resources to examine seafood trends in the U.S. Specifically, he will identify the top and fastest growing varieties of seafood on menus, as well as the corresponding flavors and preparations that are paired with each from Datassential's MenuTrends™ database. In addition, this presentation will highlight consumer ratings for various types of seafood, utilizing Datassential's SCORES™ and Flavor™ databases, indicating preferred varieties and flavors for target demographic groups (Millennials, Gen Z, etc.). The objective of this presentation is to offer up relevant insights that will help conference attendees better understand seafood trends in the U.S. and build more targeted strategies and initiatives for their organizations.
Speakers: Laurel Bryant, NOAA Fisheries; Todd DuBois, National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration, Office Of Law Enforcement (NOAA OLE); Christopher Robertson, U.S. Customs And Border Protection; Steven Wilson, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service
SIMP – a key tool in the United States’ response to combating IUU fishing and seafood fraud – has now been in place for more than a year. The recent addition of shrimp and abalone under its monitoring nearly doubled the volume and value of imported fish now subject to U.S. seafood traceability rules. How is it working? What’s next for seafood importers and exporters? The panel, composed of individuals representing the various roles and government agencies responsible for implementation, will present their perspectives on the program’s effectiveness and engage in moderated discussion and Q&A with the audience.
Speakers: Sophika Kostyniuk, Director, Fisheries & Seafood - Ocean Wise Conservation Association; Joseph Chiaravalloti, Director, Product - Seacore Seafood Inc.; David Lancaster, President - Stavis Seafoods, LLC; Shevis Shima, Senior Vice President - Sales/Procurement - Santa Monica Seafood; Mary Smith, Director of Sustainability - Inland Seafood
Session Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought monumental challenges to the seafood industry. The seafood supply chain has dealt with inconsistent access to product, border shutdowns, travel restrictions and reduction in staff sizes leading to limited production rates. These challenges have been coupled with restaurant closures across North America greatly diminishing seafood orders for some suppliers, while some retailers are experiencing a mass increase in seafood demand fueling a boost in sales for suppliers able to meet the demand. Previously accessible lucrative international markets were put beyond reach, while in some cases poorly developed local supply chains struggled to make up the difference during this challenging time.
The long-term economic impacts of the pandemic are yet to be fully realized; however, many businesses in the seafood and food services industry have quickly adapted to new business channels. Suppliers and distributors are shifting from traditional B2B operations to direct B2C channels to fill the gap of reduced restaurant orders and capitalize on increasing interest in consumers cooking seafood at home. Meanwhile, restaurants have developed take-home friendly menus in freeze-able and ready-to-serve formats in response to the drop in dine-in customers.
While prioritizing economic sustainability is vital to ensure to survival, it is also important to prioritize responsibly sourced seafood to ensure access to these resources for generations to come. Sea Pact teams up with the Ocean Wise Seafood program in leading a panel exploring the challenges of economic, social and environmental sustainability throughout COVID-19. This panel highlight sustainable seafood success stories and challenges during the pandemic and demonstrate how proper adaptability aligned with sustainable sourcing can help businesses navigate these uncertain waters and evolve industry approaches post-pandemic.
Sea Pact represents key industry leaders promoting access to sustainable seafood options that have made commitments to supporting research and development to continue to build on sustainable forms of seafood production and harvesting. The Ocean Wise Seafood program is Canada’s leading seafood sustainability program. Ocean Wise Seafood works directly with key actors within the seafood supply chain to make access to sustainable seafood simple and ensure sourcing information is readily available to all partners of this program and the wider public.
