Northern Wind finalizes Legit Fish partnership, launching traceable scallops

New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Northern Wind has announced a new partnership with Legit Fish that will enable the company to provide full-chain traceability for all of its domestically caught, Northern Atlantic scallops.

Starting Wednesday, 17 November, every case of Northern Wind scallops sourced from the Northeast U.S. scallop fishery will have third-party traceability of the products origin, harvest area, and landing-date – verifiable to government harvest records. Foodservice operators and consumers will be able to scan a QR code on the package to access information on the products, the company said.

“This is two years in the making,” Northern Wind Co-Founder Ken Melanson told SeafoodSource.

The new partnership adds value for the customer, and allows Northern Wind to fully verify that its product is exactly what the company says it is, Melanson said.

“With all the rumors and stuff about people doing catfish for whitefish, or renaming something else, we thought it would be a feather in our cap,” Melanson said. “It just makes it easier for me to say ‘What I’m telling you is the truth, and here’s the reason why.’”

Legit Fish debuted new traceability software at Seafood Expo North America in 2019, and has created a full-chain traceability system that accounts for gear-type, catch location, and more. All of the information collected by Legit Fish is also verified directly to the government records that are required throughout Northern Wind's fishing operations.

“We are thrilled to have partnered with Northern Wind. Their commitment to integrity, innovation, and quality is not just in words, but action,” Legit Fish Executive Vice President Dana Bartholomew said. “With the full integration of the Legit Fish platform, Northern Wind is now the only scallop company on the planet that can authenticate its domestic scallops back to government harvest records.”

Melanson said the company anticipates each product it sells will include information on its packaging about the fishermen who caught the item, in addition to traceability information.

“It’s been a long process, and I’m happy with the process," Melanson said. "I’m looking forward to giving our customer base the information that they’re looking for."