KODIAK - Seafood lovers in Chicago selected Seattle-based Orca Bay Foods' Cioppino with Alaskan Cod for the "People's Choice" award during the Symphony of Seafood competition held in the Windy City last month. "It's a stew type item that everyone overwhelmingly agreed was the best," said event coordinator Val Motley.
The annual Symphony event, spawned in 1994 by the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF), features an array of new seafood products judged by a panel of experts for taste and marketability. Products compete in three categories: food service, retail, and smoked.
This year's contest attracted 14 new seafood products, ranging from Smoked Salmon Chile Cheesecake (T&L Smokehouse in Juneau) to Salmon Kiev with King Crab Veloute (Kodiak Wild Gourmet Seafoods/Mill Bay Coffee) to salmon burgers, nuggets and cod strips.
Among the eight judges was none other than Dr. Bill Hogarth, the director of NOAA Fisheries. "At a time when so many people are into low carbs, sugars and fats, these seafood products can fill an important niche," Hogarth said. Along with the cioppino, his favorites included salmon pepperoni (Sea Products LLC), popcorn fish (Gorton's), cod sticks (American Pride Seafoods), and a shrimp cocktail/salsa (So-Cal Seafoods).
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Hogarth said he believes at least eight of the 14 new products could make a splash in the marketplace very quickly. "That's what we need to do - get easy to prepare, great tasting seafood products into people's homes so they feel comfortable preparing it as a daily meal. Alaska is doing a great job with that," he enthused. (In fact, Hogarth is spearheading a National Seafood Cook Off that he said would take place within two years.)
Another judge, Lisa Duchene, senior editor of SeaFood Business Magazine, agreed. "Some of the Alaska manufacturers and processors are really thinking outside the box. I saw some innovation and approaches that are really different. It's a good range of products," she said.
Her favorites were the salmon burger (Trident), along with the salmon pepperoni and shrimp cocktail.
Duchene added that the Symphony of Seafood is a very valuable way to educate chefs, food writers and the general public about Alaska's fishing industry. "For example, someone said they heard that Copper River salmon was overfished, which is anything but the truth. AFDF was able to lay it right out about how the fisheries are well managed, and how Alaska salmon has earned the Marine Stewardship Council's eco-label for sustainability. It also provides an opportunity to explain that any fish from Alaska is wild and not farmed," Duchene said. She added that the Symphony is "very useful and money saving for producers to get important feedback about their product development."
Winners in all categories receive a free trip and booth space at the prestigious International Boston Seafood Show in March, which attracts 30,000 visitors each year.
Alaska versus PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has launched a fierce campaign against any kind of fishing or eating fish. On its Web site, www.fisharefriends.com, it claims that hailing salmon as a healthful food is "a big fish story," and that all salmon is full of toxins and contains 50 percent fat.
That was enough for Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, R-Juneau, to throw down the gauntlet and threaten a lawsuit. "For PETA to talk about how harmful salmon is and not distinguish wild salmon from farmed has a potentially negative effect on the consumer. I think it disparages Alaska product in the consumer's mind, and I simply asked the Attorney General's office to determine if a cause of action would exist for disparagement against PETA. PETA, of course, has taken great umbrage at this and has challenged me to bring it on. I think it's worth looking at," he said in a telephone interview.
Weyhrauch, who is also an attorney, said PETA could care less about damaging press to Alaska salmon. "PETA doesn't care about what Alaskans do or the quality of our fish. Their agenda is to stop people from catching fish or from eating fish or any other animal, and the truth be damned," he added. PETA spokesman William Rivas-Rivas responded that the group's message is that people should not eat wild or farmed salmon, but that farmed salmon is less healthy.
Rep. Weyhrauch said the state is looking at both the legal basis of a lawsuit against PETA, as well as if it is strategically in the state's best interest to proceed. He added that "nothing will be done in haste." Consumers can sign a petition against PETA's anti-fish campaign on the internet at www.petitiononline.com.
Kodiak-based free-lance writer Laine Welch can be reached via e-mail at msfish@alaska.com.
