High Liner, Ocean Beauty, Trident, E&E Foods enter 2024 Alaska Symphony of Seafood contest

High Liner Foods, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, and E&E Foods are among the competitors entering the 2024 Alaska Symphony of Seafood.

The event, organized by the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation since 1994, is a competition for commercial-ready, value-added products, with the goal of promoting new products made from Alaska seafood. The product entries will compete for prizes in eight categories: the Grand Prize, Salmon Choice, Whitefish Choice, Seattle People’s Choice, Juneau People’s Choice, Bristol Bay Choice, Best Packaging and Best Grab & Go in addition to the categories of Retail, Food Service, Beyond the Plate, and Around the Plate. The first-place winners from each category, plus the Bristol Bay Choice award winner, will receive booth space at the 2024 Seafood Expo North America in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., entry into the SENA Seafood Excellence Awards, and airfare to and from the event.

“Product development is critically important to the entire industry and the fishing communities that depend on it. Innovative new products allow the industry to remain relevant to consumers, encourages full utilization, and help diversify markets, AFDF said in a press release. “Previous winners and entrants have leveraged the Symphony platform and continue to see increased sales and market exposure of their products.”

The entries in the retail category are:

• Ocean Beauty Seafoods – Thai Chile Lime Salmon Burger
• Ocean Beauty Seafoods – Echo Falls Smoked Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Nuggets
• Heavy Weather Fish Co – Wild Bristol Bay, Alaska Smoked Salmon
• High Liner Foods – Sea Cuisine Mediterranean Salmon
• High Liner Foods – Sea Cuisine Smoked Applewood Salmon
• Fisherman’s Kitchen – Smoked Salmon Summer Sausage
• Trident Seafoods – Wild Alaska Pollock Country Style Bites
• Trident Seafoods – Wild Alaska Premium Sockeye Hatch Chile Burger

The entries in the foodservice category include:

• E & E Foods – Wild Alaska Sockeye Salmon Breakfast Sausage
• Trident Seafoods – Kraken Stash IPA Beer Battered Wild Alaska Pollock Fillets

The Beyond the Plate category entries are:

• Trident Seafoods – AK Naturals 100% Wild Caught Alaska Salmon Skin Dog Treats
• Polkadog – Polkadog Cod Skins
• Polkadog – Polkadog Cod Chips
• Polkadog – Polkadog Alaskan Salmon Chips
• SeaSoaked Skin – Nourishing Sea+Garden Body Oil
• Creative Native – Salmon Fish Skin Leather

And the entries for the new Around the Plate categories are:

• Whidbey Island Seafood Company – Smoked Blackcod Pate
• Fisherman’s Kitchen – Smoked Salmon Pepper Sticks
• Glacier Delights dba The Bear House in Alaska -- Alaska Seafood Crunchies - Wild Fish & Sea Cucumber

The contest will culminate with several public events, including the Seattle Open House on 7 November, 2023, and an awards ceremony in Juneau, Alaska on 21 February, 2024. The winners will be announced on Thursday, 9 November, 2023

“AFDF continues its initiative to expand the positive impacts of the Symphony for the Alaska seafood industry. The industry has invested heavily in quality improvements (both during harvesting and processing),” AFDF said. “Increased quality at the point of harvest improves quality throughout the supply chain. This allows high-quality value-added products, which is truly something to promote and celebrate. Therefore, the timing could not be better to expand awareness of the high-quality value-added products made with Alaska seafood.”

Photo courtesy of Whitbey Island Seafood Company