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Disney has teamed with American Pride Seafoods, a subsidiary of American Seafoods Co., to produce a line of lightly battered fish dishes that will be rolled out in major U.S. grocery stores at the end of February. The entrees, made from Alaska pollock, include Cheddar Treasures, crunchy nuggets featuring Mickey Mouse; Dip Sea Dooz, nuggets featuring the Little Mermaid; Pirate Planks, fish strips touted by Peter Pan and Tinker Bell; and Pizza Fins, crunchy fish wedges featuring characters from the Lilo and Stitch animated film.
"We are really excited," said Disney spokesman Clint Hayashi. "We wanted to give moms a more healthy alternative for their kids." He added that the venture allows Disney to expand into a new category, apart from the cereal, candy and snacks that are usually associated with Disney characters.
Hayashi said that many years ago Disney introduced a Donald Duck seafood product that fell flat, and this new venture represents the company's first line of seafood selections at retail. "We are delighted to partner with a company known to produce superb products," he said in a phone interview.
The match was a matter of being in the right place at the right time, said Randy Rhodes, director of sales and marketing for American Pride. The company decided at the last minute to participate in a seafood show in Chicago last May, and was assigned a booth way off the main aisles. Two representatives from Disney just happened to stop by, and the deal was struck.
Rhodes said the four Alaska pollock items represent the first step in developing an entire product line aimed at helping mothers to get their kids to eat more fish. "Moms trust Disney, and the branding will enable them to try and buy new products," he said.
Disney's Hayashi said it's no mistake that the new line of seafood products comes at a time when the federal government has issued an advisory for Americans to eat seafood twice a week as part of new "food pyramid" dietary guidelines. He was not sure if Alaska salmon might become part of the Disney seafood family, "but we are always looking at new opportunities and would love to get more choices out there for American moms," Hayashi said.
Red flag for red meat
Also on the healthy diet front: Studies published Jan. 12 in the Journal of the American Medical Association shed new light on the role of diet and cancer. In one article, scientists who studied the eating patterns of nearly 149,000 American adults over two decades found that those who ate the most red and processed meat over a 10-year period had a 30 percent higher risk of colon cancer and 40 percent greater risk of rectal cancer, compared with those who consumed the least.
In contrast, those who ate lots of poultry and fish were 30 percent less likely to get colon cancer compared with those who ate little of those foods. The researchers speculate that it is possible poultry and fish contain factors that may protect against colon cancer. The findings reinforce results of earlier studies that link red meat with colon cancer.
Researchers say their findings are especially important today when many people are following low-carb diets and eating more red meat. Beef consumption, which began to fall in 1976, has been increasing slowly since 1993, according to the study.
Frozen fares well
A major promotion to convince consumers that frozen fish can be a fantastic product yielded great results. Alaska seafood marketers last fall launched a multi-year program to help retain salmon's place in customers' minds and mouths during the so called "shoulder seasons," meaning long after the summer fishing season.
The promotion targeted 13 major markets across the U.S. in a partnership with more than 3,500 stores. "It was very well received. In just about every store where we did our 'Cook It Frozen' demonstrations, we sold out the freezers," said Ray Riutta, director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Salmon was the main focus, but ASMI also pushed hard on whitefish. Another big promotion this spring will target the Hispanic market. "Test marketing indicates it will be a very good market for canned and pouched salmon," Riutta said.
He credits grant money from the state and federal dollars from the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board for the successful promotions. "People have used it well. It speaks volumes about what you can do with a good marketing effort," Riutta said.
Fish watch
Starting Jan. 15, a fleet of 172 Bering Sea crabbers were set to drop pots for roughly 20 million pounds of snow crab. Crabbers accepted $1.80 a pound for their catch, down from last year's $2.20. The lower price stems from a weaker market due in great part to high carryover inventories combined with lots of unsold snow crab, primarily from Canada. "Currently, Alaska represents only about 10 percent of the U.S. market. In contrast, close to 200 million pounds of snow crab comes out of Canada each year," said market analyst John Sackton. The Bering Sea fishery is expected to last seven to 10 days.
At the same time, crabbers in the Gulf are targeting bairdi tanner crab, the larger cousin of opilio tanners (the real name for snow crab). The quota for Kodiak waters is 1.75 million pounds, more than double from last year. Tanner crab fisheries are also underway at Chignik (12 boats) and the South Peninsula (20 boats), where the combined quota is 700,000 pounds.
Alaska will soon know how much halibut will be up for grabs this year. The International Pacific Halibut Commission were to reveal the catch limits at its annual meeting Jan. 17-21 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Alaska could get just more than 59 million pounds of halibut if earlier recommendations are approved. The season usually begins in mid-March and lasts through mid-November.
Sparks should be flying between sport fish and commercial salmon harvesters as the state Board of Fisheries was to take on Cook Inlet fish issues from Jan. 15-29.
And finally, fewer than 600 salmon fishermen applied for cash payouts of up to $10,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture by the Jan. 13 deadline. The money is intended to provide relief to salmon fishermen hurt by imports of cheaper farmed fish. A total of 28,755 permit holders and crew were potentially eligible for the cash benefit.
Kodiak-based freelance writer Laine Welch can be reached via e-mail at msfish@alaska.com.
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