San Francisco, CA – Monday evening, the Seafood Industry Research Fund held the fourth installment of what has become a celebrated industry event, the SIRF Soirée. Occurring during the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference, the annual benefit dinner took place at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Over one-hundred of seafood’s foremost leaders gathered for an evening of fine-dining to raise funds for seafood-focused studies, donating to the newly created Mark D. Leslie Living Tribute Fund.
Attendees learned first-hand of SIRF’s work from video testimonials featuring the scientists and researchers conducting sponsored projects. With ongoing research in disease, nutrition and DNA testing, SIRF promoted itself as a forward-thinking organization seeking to understand and improve issues affecting the seafood business.
“Seafood keeps us on our toes,” said Chairman Russ Mentzer. “SIRF has been funding research for over forty years and the landscape of concern that companies face in matters of supply, quality and consumption shifts every day. To stay current, SIRF keeps an interest in seafood’s immediate reality as well as its horizons.”
Emphasizing the seafood research group’s focus on the future, the evening’s program centered on environmental impact. Dr. Ray Hilborn, Marine Biologist and Fisheries Scientist with the University of Washington, addressed Soirée attendees on his SIRF-sponsored research measuring the carbon footprint of major proteins.
“Compared to chicken, beef and pork, seafood treads lightly,” Hilborn said. “With its low use of resources in production, seafood presents itself as a prime protein for consumers concerned about the environmental upshot of their purchasing decisions. This is a story worth championing just as much as seafood’s nutritional benefits.”
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The Seafood Industry Research Fund (SIRF) was established in 1964 to fund research grants to colleges, universities and other institutions for research related to the seafood industry and the consumers of its products. SIRF is supported entirely by voluntary contributions from individuals and companies in and related to the seafood industry
Source: The Seafood Industry Research Fund (SIRF)