Tallahassee, FL – With support from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, nine Florida companies reported more than $25 million in sales of seafood products at the three-day Seafood Expo North America this week.
“Florida’s seafood is second to none, and that’s why buyers across the country and the globe choose our products for their stores and restaurants,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam. “We’re proud to help bring Florida companies to the expo, where they can showcase their delicious products.”
The event, formerly known as the International Boston Seafood Show, hosted the following Florida companies:
• Ariel Seafoods, Destin
• Frenchy’s Stone Crab Company, Palm Harbor
• Rod’s Seafood, Pierson
• Shaw’s Southern Belle Frozen Foods, Jacksonville
• Southeastern SeaProducts, Melbourne
• Stokes Fish Company, Leesburg
• Sun Shrimp, Fort Myers
• Water Street Seafood, Apalachicola
• Wood’s Fisheries, Port St. Joe
On display were snapper, grouper, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, spiny lobster, stone crab claws, farm-raised shrimp, farm-raised clams, blue crab and wild-caught shrimp. Chef Justin Timineri, Florida’s Culinary Ambassador, cooked and offered samples, including fresh Florida frog legs, to interested buyers.
The department works with Florida seafood companies to bring their products to the expo, which is the largest seafood show in North America – hosting more than 1,000 exhibitors and 19,000 buyers from 100 countries around the globe.
Florida ranks among the top 12 states in the nation for fresh seafood production. Florida fishermen harvest more than 100 million pounds of seafood annually, including all of the nation’s spiny lobster, 97 percent of stone crabs and 84 percent of grouper, pompano, mullet, pink shrimp and Spanish mackerel. More than 85 different varieties of seafood are harvested in Florida.