Invitation to feature product at the 2023 Alaska Symphony of Seafood – The Cordova Times
The competition for the best new, commercial-ready, value-added seafood products has opened at the 2023 Alaska Symphony of Seafood, where first-place finishers in each category will receive booth space at the 2023 Seafood Expo North America in Boston, as well as a round-trip flight.
This year, the Symphony, organized annually by the Alaska Fisheries Development Corporation, will present six separate special awards: Grand Prize, Salmon, Whitefish, Seattle People’s Choice, Juno People’s Choice, Bristol Bay’s Choice, as well as a retail and foodservice competition, etc. Behind the plate categories, the latter for non-food products made with Alaskan seafood as an ingredient.
The Bristol Bay Choice was first awarded in 2022 for Wild Caught Bristol Bay Alaska Sockeye Salmon, an Alaskan Leader Seafoods product, to raise awareness of the highest quality produce from Bristol Bay.
Entry forms are available online at https://www.afdf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023ASOS_CallForProducts.pdf.
The deadline for submitting entries is October 21.
Previous winners, including Ocean Beauty Seafoods, which has facilities in Cordova, have leveraged Symphony’s connections to boost their sales and market exposure of their products.
In the 2021 competition, Ocean Beauty Seafoods’ Echo Falls Wild Alaska Sockeye Salmon Tapas Slices won first place in the Retail and Salmon competition and were also finalists in the Premium Seafood Awards during the North American Seafood Show.
The first event of 2023 will take place November 16 at the Seattle Open House, co-hosted by the Northwest Fishers Association, at the Bell Harbor International Convention Center in Seattle. After judging, guests at the open house, including seafood industry invitees and sponsors, will receive sample entries and votes in the Seattle People’s Choice competition. The awards ceremony will take place on February 23 during the Juneau Open House, co-hosted by the United Fishermen of Alaska, where guests including members of the Alaska Legislature will vote on the selection of Juno People and a sample of entries.
The AFDF Symphony Competition, which dates back to 1994, has been funded by the seafood industry and its supporters. A full list of sponsors for the 2021 event is available online at https://www.afdf.org/wp-content/uploads/ASOS20-Sponsor-Poster-FINAL.pdf.
The AFDF is still looking for sponsors for the 2023 event. Information on how to become a sponsor is available online at the AFDF website: https://afdf.org.
Major sponsors for the 2021 competition include the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, Lineage Logistics, Trident Seafoods, Marine Stewardship Association, Northwest Fisheries Association, Alaska Air Cargo, At-Sea Processors Association, and United Fishermen of Alaska.
The mission of the AFDF, founded in 1978, is to identify opportunities in the Alaskan seafood industry and develop effective, sustainable results that provide benefits to the economy, the environment, and communities. Past Symphony winners have ranged from freezer and microwave wild Alaskan seafood appetizers to barbecue sauce, pet treats, salmon skin products, and kelp.
