BOSTON — The Catfish Institutes (TCI) marketing and promotional work for the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry continued at the 2010 International Boston Seafood Show. The annual trade show, held March 14th 16th at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center, brought together a global audience of 16,000 seafood buyers and more than 800 exhibitors the largest event of its kind.
The TCI booth featured Captain Catfish, the U.S. Catfish industrys official mascot, along with the 2010 Catfish Farmers of the Year: Joey Lowery of Arkansas, Will Pearce of Alabama, and Ed Pentecost of Mississippi. The TCI marketing team focused its communication efforts on five primary topics: all-American quality, the industrys inspection standards, government food safety regulations, culinary versatility, and domestic catfishs sustainable and reliable supply.
It is extremely important to our industry that we continue to educate seafood buyers about our product, said Roger Barlow, TCI president. Having a strong presence at the Boston Seafood Show allowed us to interact with seafood brokers and distributors who may not be familiar with the differences between U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish and the competition.
U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is raised in environmentally-controlled, clay-based ponds, filled with fresh water pumped from underground wells and filtered by alluvial aquifers, and has very little impact on the environment due to its inland locations. The National Audubon Society, Monterey Bay Aquarium and Environmental Defense Fund all recommend U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish as a sound environmental seafood choice.
At 0.3 grams per 3-ounce serving, U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish contains a very respectable amount of Omega-3 fatty acids as much, or more, than canned tuna, shrimp, cod, clams, crabs, scallops, lobster, grouper, mahi mahi, red snapper and orange roughy. And since U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is a sustainable, farmed seafood product, its price point is much more stable and thus budget friendly when compared to the wild caught competition.
The Catfish Institute, based in Jackson, Miss., was formed in 1986 to raise consumer awareness of the positive qualities of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish. TCI promotes the health, versatility, safety and flavor benefits of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish to home and restaurant chefs.
Source: The Catfish Institute