Del Pacifico Seafoods has announced its entry into the aquaculture space with plans to introduce its new line of responsibly-farmed shrimp and oysters March 13-15 at Seafood Expo North America in Boston, Massachusetts.
The company will also introduce white snook, a white fish native to Mexico and popular in the southeastern United States. Del Pacifico will be showcasing its new products alongside its wild-caught Mexican blue shrimp at booth No. 2733.
“Since starting the company in 2014, we have seen demand for our shrimp across retail and foodservice. Wild shrimp alone cannot sustain this growth. Responsible shrimp farming enables us to meet this growing demand, while also maintaining our wild shrimp stocks and commitment to sustainability,” said Rubén Castro, CEO of Del Pacifico.
“We are also excited for the opportunity to collaborate with local fishing co-ops to help us expand our seafood offerings to include oysters and white snook. Working in partnership with our fishing communities is at the heart of our business and allows the preservation of small-scale fishing operations as well as local social and environmental causes.”
Similar to its Fair Trade-certified wild-caught Blue Mexican shrimp, Del Pacifico’s new line of Pacific White Shrimp is farm-raised, antibiotic-free, chemical-free and preservative-free. The white shrimp adhere to the same sustainable methods of harvesting and processing at the company-owned processing facility where the shrimp are processed, flash-frozen once and shipped within just a few hours of netting.
Del Pacifico’s White Shrimp have been independently certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council as being environmentally and socially responsibly raised. The ASC has strict standards in the aquaculture industry, monitoring water quality, responsible sourcing of feed, disease prevention, animal welfare, the fair treatment and pay of workers and maintaining positive relationships with neighboring communities.
Del Pacifico brought together five local fishing co-ops at Bahía de Altata, Sinaloa, and provided them with seeds, technical resources and working capital so they could elevate the quality and production volume. The result is Palmita Bay Oysters – sustainably farm-raised in their natural habitat.
Off the coast of Nayarit in western Mexico, the white snook are line-caught by local artisanal fishermen on small day boats using traditional hook and line fishing practices to ensure a high quality end product.
As a leader in sustainable seafood, Del Pacifico now offers both wild and farmed seafood to meet the growing demand across foodservice and retail.
To learn more about Del Pacifico and its seafood offerings, visit delpacificoseafoods.com.
