Project

Fish Quality Resource Hub

Improving seafood quality to capture more value.

Despite the healthy, abundant fisheries in New England, regional seafood struggles to compete with imports on volume — but has an opportunity to compete on quality. This resource hub is for local fishermen and seafood supply chain businesses interested in increasing the value of regional seafood by improving quality.

Our Goals:

  • Share what we have learned about current finfish quality handling practices from working with fishermen and seafood businesses.
  • Make information available about best practices around quality, including low-cost options to improve.
  • Provide contacts for fishermen who want to learn more and explore quality-related projects.

This fish quality resource hub is the result of a USDA Regional Food System Partnership project between the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, and many fishing and seafood supply chain businesses across New England. Our partnership shares the goal of building a resilient regional seafood system by building greater demand and value for seafood from New England.

Finfish from our region no longer competes on volume in the global (or even the local) marketplace, so our focus has been on the opportunities to increase value by competing on quality. We took steps towards a vision of a 21st-century fishery based on high quality, smaller volumes, and higher value by:

  • Assessing current practices from fishermen and processors, and identifying where they see opportunities for investing in quality and value
  • Testing and identifying best practices for finfish quality
  • Establishing objective measures of quality
  • Identifying a range of low-to-high cost investments that would make a difference in quality
  • Convening retailers, restaurants, and institutions with fishermen and processors to explore solutions for moving forward

This work is far from over, but this project shows that there are ways to move towards a different future for the industry, which some fishermen and processors are already embracing. Please reach out to staff from any of our three organizations to discuss ideas for improving and investing in quality so the region’s industry can collectively increase value over time, strengthening our coastal communities.

Fish quality plays a major role in yield, shelf life, and how your catch is valued in the market. This overview focuses on four key best practices that make the biggest difference on the water: acting quickly after capture, keeping fish cold, maintaining clean workspaces, and handling fish with care.
Seafood quality bumper sticker

Koozie chill fish seafood quality
fish quality project page 3
Slurry ice can be one of the most effective ways to cool fish fast and protect quality, but only if it’s made and managed correctly. This overview breaks down how to build a proper slurry, what temperatures to aim for, how long fish should stay in a slurry, and the common mistakes that can reduce quality or value.

Dive Deeper

For a more in-depth look at the resources shared on this page (and more) in one place, visit our online Fish Quality Resource Hub.

Explore

Fishing Business Financial Tool

This tool was designed specifically for fishermen to track and manage the financial details of their businesses. It includes worksheets to assess expenses on a per trip basis, as well as projections over longer time periods. Reach out to GMRI, CCCFA, or MCFA for support in using the tool.

Free Thermometer to Monitor Catch Temp

Fill out this form and we will mail you a free thermometer to use in monitoring the temperature of your catch while it is being chilled and stored on board. The thermometers are free, waterproof, and environmentally safe.

Reach out with questions!

Please reach out to staff at any of our three organizations to talk more about fish quality, ideas about how to improve value for the fishing industry, or questions about any of the results and resources here.

Resource Index

Quick Resources for Fishermen

Quick Resources for Seafood Processors

Report: Improving Seafood Quality to Increase Value

Full, detailed report on learnings from this project, including current practices, best practices, challenges, and opportunities across the supply chain.

Species Specific Quality Results

See results from species-specific experiments to measure quality on fishing boats and shoreside. For each experiment, there are short one to two page summaries and more detailed reports.

Fish Quality Team

Project Sponsor

The USDA logo

Funding for this work was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant award #AM21RFSPME1029-01. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.

Project Partners

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