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PACIFIC NORTHWEST SEAFOOD APPOINTS SOPEXA TO LAUNCH MARKET DEVELOPMENT DRIVE IN THE UK

PACIFIC NORTHWEST SEAFOOD

Pacific Northwest Seafood appoints SOPEXA to launch market development drive in the UK. The Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA) has retained SOPEXA, a public relations and marketing agency in the United Kingdom (U.K.), to develop a complete market assessment exploring the opportunities for seafood from the Pacific Northwest of the United States (U.S.) in the UK. WUSATA is an organisation that delivers programmes and services to assist Western U.S. agribusinesses to grow in export markets. WUSATA chose SOPEXA to do this work following a competitive process.

Frédéric Dersigny, Managing Director at SOPEXA UK, said:

“We are looking forward to collaborating with WUSATA and the Oregon Department of Agriculture to develop opportunities for UK consumers to enjoy sustainable seafood from the Pacific Northwest in the UK and further afield.”

The London-based team will work alongside Erick Garman, Trade Development Manager, Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), to develop a full market assessment exploring the opportunities for seafood from the Pacific Northwest of the USA in the UK. At the same time, a chef will be conducting training sessions on how to prepare Pacific Northwest seafood and outreach to buyers will be ongoing.

Erick Garman said:

“We are delighted to appoint SOPEXA as our Contractor to lead our marketing strategy in the UK. Their expertise and in-depth knowledge of the food and beverage market, and in particular their seafood knowledge will play a central role in developing opportunities for the industry.”

ODA conceived the brand Pacific Northwest Seafood to promote all the seafood species from the region. Species include Oregon Pink Shrimp, Pacific Dover Sole, Thornyhead, Pacific Rockfish (Rosefish), Pacific Hake, Petrale Sole and Sablefish. The Oregon Pink Shrimp fishery is known for its fisherman’s commitment to sustainability. The shrimp fishery is the first in the world to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. MSC certification is a way of showing that a fishery meets international best practice for sustainable fishing.

Species from the region are abundant. For example, the Oregon Coldwater Shrimp (Pandalus Jordani) has seen growing volumes over recent years, with catch volumes rising from 27 million pounds in 2019 to 46.7 million pounds in 2021.  While Rockfish from the area is strong with growing biomass (24,500 metric ton quota) and provides excellent value at a time that consumers are struggling with global inflationary pressures.

The USDA Market Access Programme (MAP) funds the market development work, and WUSATA is administering the project.

For more information contact Rebecca Wilson, rwilson@sopexa.com

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