Brussels
The European Seafood Exposition held it's 20th annual seafood show in Brussels, Belgium last week. The fisheries represented by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the richest fish stocks in the world were well represented, particularly by our sector's cooperative, The Alaska Seafood Coop ("AKSC").
On his recent trip to Belgium, Fishermen's Finest General Manager Kristian Uri checked in with Alaska Seafood Cooperative Manager Jason Anderson at the Coop's booth, right next door to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Booth in pavilion 6 (of 12) in the Brussels Expo site.
For anyone interested in the fishing industry, a visit to the European Seafood Exposition (aka Brussels Seafood Show) is an educational experience. Fishermen's Finest lives seafood 24/7 but I don't know that the rest of our community realizes the value of this resource in the worldwide marketplace. To Europeans, they look to seafood as Americans look to chicken or beef. As mentioned above, the Expo is huge, encompassing the 1958 World Fair Ground facilities (think Sputnik) and has more than 1,600 seafood companies from 80 countries around the world:
Pictured below is the USA section of the fair, small in comparison to the other countries represented, directly disproportionate to our nation's fisheries resources, particularly those of the North Pacific Ocean.
For more information about the European Seafood Exposition or the beautiful city of Brussels, please visit the following sites:
Fishermen's Finest [& Alaska Seafood Cooperative] - a team of excellence at the European Seafood Exposition 2012.