Once Defeated American Red Snapper Takes Stage at World ‘s Largest Food Sport Competition

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Posted Oct 20, 2015

Once Defeated American Red Snapper Takes Stage at World ‘s Largest Food Sport Competition

(Kissimmee, FL) – With today's world-class chefs sourcing fresh, wild, sustainable product for discerning palates, World Food Championships is proud to announce Destin-based Ariel Seafood, a leading producer of sustainable seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, as the event's seafood category sponsor.

“Once on the brink of collapse, the Gulf of Mexico’s American Red Snapper fishery has made a comeback worthy of food champ lore,” said David Krebs, President/CEO of Ariel Seafoods, headquartered in Destin, Florida. His boat and fishermen have been instrumental in the development of seafood tracking programs that confirm responsible harvesting of fish

“Responsible fishing practices and smarter commercial management has helped recover the American Red Snapper species,” Krebs said. “It’s a story that’s worth sharing with the world’s best seafood category competitors at the World Food Championships.”

Krebs will commission his 57-foot Alleluia, a Master Marine Construction vessel originally built for purse seine operations, for a special World Food Championships fishing excursion. The Alleluia was redesigned in 2011 for the snapper fishery after the ban on net fishing in Florida. Although the vessel can hold 15,000 pounds, it typically carries no more than 7,000 pounds as the trips are kept short (2-3 days each) to maintain the quality of fish.

“Basically, you won’t find fresher fish anywhere in Central Florida during competition week unless you catch it yourself,” said Mike McCloud, World Food Championships President and CEO.

Many of the world's fisheries are collapsing and, as recently as 2007, American Red Snapper was, too. A growing movement for sustainability across the globe has pushed fishermen to find new ways of helping the fishery flourish. Among them, Krebs and Ariel Seafoods has been instrumental in working with the Federal government and fishermen around the Gulf to redesign the system that manages the commercial fishery. Efforts now a decade old are proving successful, both ecologically and economically, through individual fishing quotas (IFQs), a catch-share system that limits the commercial catch while extending a year-round season.

Krebs has played an integral role in engineering the Gulf’s original fish tracking system, as well as a second one that has grown to be the most comprehensive in the region. That system, Fish Trax Marketplace, services more than 70 commercially-caught species, including red snapper, grouper, tile fish, pink shrimp and albacore tuna around the United States.

The program allows consumers to learn where in the Gulf of Mexico their fish came from, who caught it, and from what vessel. It also provides a set of retailer capabilities that allow restaurants, fish markets, and processors to share the catch history with the consumer.

“This interest is bigger than ourselves,” Krebs said, whose company is a “Fresh from Florida” marketing partner with the Florida Department of Agriculture. “Preserving healthy commercial fishery is a benefit for consumers worldwide.”

The FishTrax program was developed in concert with Oregon-based Advanced Research Corporation through a partnership involving Oregon State University, NOAA, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and other collaborating organizations doing scientific research on fish.

Ariel Seafoods will demonstrate the tracking system throughout the week from their promotional booth at the World Food Championships. Special appointments are welcomed.

Krebs, learned how to fish from the legendary Dewey Destin and went on to become a Gulf Seafood Institute board member, and a frequent advisory panel member for NOAA and other fishery management organizations worldwide. As a wholesale operation, Ariel provides daily fresh catch from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Ariel’s fish lands on plates and processors globally through distributor deals and direct sales.

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Once Defeated American Red Snapper Takes Stage at World ‘s Largest Food Sport Competition

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