North America’s largest seafood trade showcase has been hailed as a big success for the Scottish firms on a mission to grow their exports across the Atlantic.
This week’s Seafood Expo North America (Sena) 2017 in Boston saw Scotland’s presence more than double in size from a year ago.
It also marked the official entry into the market of Scottish Seas, a new co-operative involving three fish producer organisations (FPOs) for Aberdeen, Orkney and the west of Scotland.
Catching a variety of North Atlantic species, from white-fish to langoustines, its 52 vessels are crewed by more than 200 fishers.
The partnership was created after FPO representatives attended a workshop at last year’s Sena event and decided to join forces in order to tackle the North American market together.
Scottish Seas directors and skippers were in Boston for this year’s show to introduce the brand to international buyers and seek retail and foodservice partners across the pond.
Alan Coghill, director of both Scottish Seas and the Orkney Fish Producers’ Organisation, said: “For so many to come together to form a successful partnership in just 12 short months is a tremendous achievement for the industry and demonstrates Scotland’s ability to keep up with the big players on a global scale.”
First time exhibitors at Sena 2017 also included The Crab Company (Scotland), based in Peterhead, which had more than 40 inquiries on the first day alone.
Clare MacDougall, marketing manager at trade body Seafood Scotland said: “Sena Boston has been a huge success, and certainly one of the busiest shows that we’ve ever attended.
“We had a much bigger range of species represented than in previous years which helped to promote the great diversity of Scottish seafood to the buyers that were visiting the expo.
“Given recent political changes, it was hard to know what to expect in the US this year but it seems to be business as usual. In fact, we saw more business done than last year.”