Do you know where your seafood comes from? I do!
If you’ve been around me for any length of time at all, you’ll know that this is a very important part of my life. Knowing where your food comes from — whether we’re talking delicious seafood or some fantastic Alberta beef — is important!
I’ve been in and around the fishing industry all my life. My dad was a commercial fisherman and I’ve known the people I get my seafood from for a large portion of my life. When I say that my products are “one step from the water”, I truly mean it! I buy seafood directly from the primary producers who buy directly from the boats who catch the fish. (Federal regulations does not allow me to buy right off the boat or else I would — everything they catch has to go through a federally regulated, registered and inspected processing plant to ensure the quality of the seafood.) I know who is handling every fillet I purchase — it’s not going through four or five different sets of hands before coming to me, and I know how every product I carry is caught. I have an excellent personal relationship with each and every supplier!
When I was first starting Effing Seafoods, I called the plant manager of the company I wanted for my main supplier. I remember this like it was yesterday — it was a Thursday and I had called, emailed and texted and I hadn’t heard a single word back. He called me back the next day, apologizing for taking so long to respond. He’d received and was processing 260,000 pounds of Chum Salmon on Thursday and had been a little busy. He’d called back and was eager to work with me simply because of that bond. The fact that this processing plant regularly deals with orders of tens of thousands of pounds at one time and is beyond happy to work with my much smaller orders is proof of the relationships I’ve formed.
There are many more stories like this. I could tell you about my shellfish supplier, whom I’ve known for more than fifteen years, or the second generation (as I am) supplier I grew up with. Our Dads worked together years ago, and now he’s not only one of my best suppliers, but also a good friend. I fished for yet a fourth supplier. These are deep relationships that go back years and years, and that’s really important to me. It’s important to be able to tell you the names of the people — every single one of them — who are handling your fish. I want you to have as much confidence in this as I do.
As you know, my main goal is to educate my customers about the fish they’re purchasing and pass on as much information as I can. I want to share exactly how my products get to your table. My second goal is to provide the highest quality products from as close to the source as anyone can get. My third goal is good service. That speaks for itself!
