Red-Letter Moments in the Emerald City

Scripted or unscripted,?GOAL: The Responsible Seafood Conference ?is always replete with special moments, and the 21st edition of the Global Seafood Alliance’s signature event, the first in-person event in three years, did not disappoint. Day 1’s keynote speakers set the tone. Seattle Mayor?Bruce Harrell ?encouraged the 350-person crowd to be “extremely prideful” about working in seafood and to not be afraid of “difficult conversations,” while?Loni Grinnell Greninger , Vice Chair of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Council, addressed the balance between growth and development and being a steward of the environment. In today’s challenging labor environment,?Bob Donegan ’s advice on employee retention and customer service as longtime president of Ivar’s Seafood Restaurants really hit home.

Day 2 featured a series of ceremonies recognizing innovation. By audience vote,?Dr. C.R. Subhashini ?of Aristogene Biosciences and?John Felts ?of Cruz Foam were deemed the winners of GSA’s 10th annual Global Aquaculture Innovation Award and inaugural Global Fisheries Innovation Award, respectively, while three animal feed manufacturers (Star Milling Co. ,?Empagran ?and?Jiangsu Fuhai Biotech Co. Ltd. ) were each awarded a $100,000 grand prize from the Future of Fish Feed in the F3 Challenge – Carnivore Edition.

You could hear a pin drop when National Fisheries Institute President?John Connelly ?and Global Seafood Alliance President and Founder?George Chamberlain ?accepted the Wallace R. Stevens Lifetime Achievement Award. Both gentlemen stepped up to the podium and simply spoke from the heart, and their love for the industry could be felt throughout the ballroom of Seattle’s Fairmont Olympic Hotel.

Sometimes, special moments just, well, happen. Sig Hansen (pictured above), star of the Discovery Channel’s long-running “Deadliest Catch ” program, appeared out of the blue to join the?ceremony for the Global Fisheries Innovation Award. He then stayed on stage for a back-and-forth with?Responsible Seafood Advocate?Editor James Wright, in a candidly entertaining conversation in which the gruff crab fisherman talked about his involvement in?Resqunit ?and admitted that environmental responsibility was not exactly top of mind in his early days on the Bering Sea but that his mindset has since changed for the better thanks to his children and grandchildren.

There were more special moments in Seattle, too many to fit in this brief email. If you missed it, virtual events recapping the presentations and panel discussions delivered in Seattle are scheduled for Nov. 10 and Dec. 8. And it’s never too early to mark your calendar for 22nd edition of?GSA’s signature event , which in October 2023 will be held in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada (dates and venue to be announced later this year). We hope to see you there!