ASMI's annual Commercial Fishing Photo Contest will come to a close March 31. Enter your photo at photocontest.alaskaseafood.org for a chance to win. Winners will be announced in April, and submitted photos will be used to promote the Alaska seafood industry.

ASMI updated its “ How Seafood Powers Alaska” video on YouTube as well as the six Alaska Seafood Industry Economic Impact videos playing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The updated videos include the most recent numbers from the Alaska Seafood Economic Impact Report, published in January 2020.

ASMI in concert with Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) hosted the first ever Wild Alaska Pollock Week in Seattle from Feb. 28 - March 8. Over 40 local restaurants participated to celebrate this sustainable, delicious, delicate, unsung hero of the sea. Diners loved the elegant, elevated preparations and presentations of the wild Alaska pollock - everything from S moked miso Alaska pollock and seaweed campanelle with shoyu butter and mentaiko to Pan seared Alaska pollock with nettle gnocchi and spruce mushroom consomme. ASMI and GAPP are very grateful for the partnership with the Seattle restaurant community to make this event a success.

February’s Alaska sockeye promotion at Seattle’s PCC markets broke an all-time record for sales. Almost 25,000 pounds of Alaska salmon were sold which was an impressive 1104% increase over last year. A coupon featuring buy one, get one free previously frozen Alaska sockeye was redeemed over 13,000 times from Feb. 26 – March 3. PCC used the Alaska Seafood logo on custom POS at all store locations in the Seattle area.

Texas retailer HEB featured wild Alaska cod during the month of January, executing in-store demos in 316 locations across the state. Customers were given the opportunity to taste the cod as they shopped, and HEB saw a 24% year over year weekly lift during the successful sales event. 

Flavor Forays held their fifth annual Charleston tour, with a focus on local cuisine heavily steeped in seafood. As a sponsor, Alaska Seafood showcased wild Alaska halibut in whole form as well as portions for attendees to both cook and enjoy eating. Attendees included chefs representing large scale operations from quick serve and fine dining restaurants to the college/university and business/industry sectors.

Juneau chef and 2017 GASCO winner Nel Uddipa created four new recipes featuring Alaska sea cucumber. The dishes featured various methods of preparation with different ethnic flavors including Crispy moroccan spiced Alaska Sea Cucumber, Kimchi guk with Alaska sea cucumber, Nam prik-puya saute with Alaska sea cucumber, and Alaska sea cucumber ceviche with aji amarrillo.

The recipes give visibility to this unique ingredient and the dive fishery that harvests them in the waters of southeastern Alaska. ASMI will incorporate the recipes and photos into ASMI’s social channels and add the recipes to their recipe database for consumers to enjoy. 

Over 400,000 pounds of Alaska seafood were sold at participating Hy-Vee locations from December 2019 – February 2020. Hy-Vee amplified the promotion using their social media channels and by printing beautiful ads in their Seasons and Corp Ads magazines.

Stores told the Alaska story by utilizing ASMI point of sale materials including posters, clings and danglers. Additionally, customers had the opportunity to taste Alaska snow crab at demo stations at participating stores. 

ASMI Japan exhibited at the Tokai Denpun trade show on Feb. 21. Tokai Denpun Co, a general wholesaler specializing in surimi and starch products, organizes the show every other year for its customers, clients, and the food industry. The event has become one of the most influential surimi trade shows in Japan with approximately 2,000 attendees, the majority of whom work in the surimi industry. The ASMI stand featured wild Alaska pollock brochures and recipes as well as informational materials on the Responsible Fisheries Management certification program and Alaska sustainability. 

In February, ASMI NEU co-hosted an influencer event with Blogilicious – an influencer marketing platform. The event was a huge success with the poke bowl making and knife skills stations being particularly huge hits with key influencers.

Guests engaged in the opportunity and busily posted on their popular food and lifestyle social media channels both during and after the event. It resulted in over 80 mentions on social media (and counting) reaching an audience of over 200,000 on Instagram. 

ASMI SEU hosted a masterclass on wild Alaska salmon with chef & teacher Gerard Ninot (a previous winner of an ASMI video contest) on Feb. 26 during Gastronomy Week at the Escola Hosteleria Osona (culinary school in Osona).

The masterclass consisted of a technical training on the difference between farmed salmon and the five species of wild salmon, insight on Alaska’s sustainable fisheries, full utilization, and fileting and cooking tips. After the training, he proceeded to prepare various sockeye salmon dishes with the 45 students for a more hands-on approach to learning. Chef Gerard and Escola Hotelaria Osona shared several pictures of the event on their Instagram stories and tagged Alaska Seafood Spain who reshared the photos. 

ASMI has developed a Spanish language website, focusing on the Latin American market and catering to countries such as Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and Mexico. The website provides local trade users with information about Alaska seafood characteristics and species, as well as up-to-date harvest and market information.

The new ASMI Latin America website will be initially aimed at seafood processors and importers, containing information on Alaska raw material production, the many benefits of Alaska’s wild, natural, and sustainable products, advantages for the trade sector, sales speeches, and examples of Alaska seafood products available around the world for “inspiration.” Trade-directed information will also be made available such as the ASMI suppliers’ directory, as well as information for importers, seafood processors, retailers and wholesalers, and hotels and restaurants.