A call for product has been issued for the 28th annual Alaska Symphony of Seafood, inviting market ready entries in new salmon and whitefish product categories, plus competition for retail, food service and beyond the plate.
Product entries are welcome to enter into all qualified categories and are eligible for multiple awards, such as retail and salmon or food service and whitefish. Special awards categories will include the grand prize, Seattle People’s Choice, Juneau People’s Choice and the Bristol Bay Choice. Event organizers at the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation in Wrangell said the new categories will allow for more opportunities for product awards, promotion and recognition, including increased exposure for products out of Bristol Bay.
The deadline for entries is Oct. 6. Download information on the call for product at afdf.org/projects/current-projects/symphony-of-seafood.
Contest entries will be judge in Seattle in November, followed by an open house for all entrants, seafood industry invitees and sponsors. Awards will be announced during a second event in Juneau, to which Alaska legislators and other special guests will be invited.
Also beginning this year the first place winners in each category, plus special awards and the grand prize winner will receive booth space at the Seafood Expo north America in Boston and entry into their national new product competition, the Seafood Excellence Awards, as well as airfare to and from the show, courtesy of Alaska Air Cargo.
AFDF also announced the addition of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association as a major sponsor of the Symphony. The BBRSDA has committed to a three-year partnership aimed at helping to diversify markets and encourage more innovative products.
Other major sponsors are the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Lineage Logistics, Trident Seafoods, Marine Stewardship Council, Northwest Fisheries Association, Alaska Air Cargo, At-Sea Processors Association and United Fishermen of Alaska. A complete list of all sponsors is at afdf.org/wp-content/uploads/ASOS20-Sponsor-Poster-FINAL.pdf.
AFDF was founded in 1978 to identify common opportunities in Alaska’s seafood industry. More information about AFDF is at afdf.org.
