Six seafood buyers from across North America are in Prince Edward Island this weekend to see the Island’s Seafood industry firsthand.
Innovation PEI and the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development are hosting incoming buyers Thursday through Sunday. Buyers will see each stop our seafood makes, from the waters through to the plates of seafood connoisseurs.
“Prince Edward Island offers the best in seafood products, produced in a quality environment, harvested and processed with care,” said Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development Minister Neil LeClair. “This mission is an excellent opportunity to show importers the waters, processing plants, and people responsible for our high quality seafood while introducing them to new seafood products.”
The buyers are representing Sysco Foods; Joeys Only; TJ Distribution and Meta4Foods of Calgary, Alberta; P & J Oyster Co. of New Orleans, Louisiana; Federal Shell & Fish of Boston, Massachusetts; and Australis Aquaculture of Turner Falls, Massachusetts. Each buyer imports at least one Island species and is looking at potential for importing new products from Prince Edward Island including oysters, mussels, lobster, halibut and rock crab.
“These buyers have an appreciation for our products already,” said Innovation and Advanced Learning Minister Allan Campbell. “Showing them the quality and variety of seafood we have to offer lets us develop new business opportunities to expand our seafood exports.”
Innovation PEI and the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development will conclude the tour with a stop at the International Shellfish Festival (ISF) which is a culinary festival highlighting the quality of Island shellfish. The ISF takes place all weekend at Peake’s Quay in Charlottetown.
“It is a great time of year to bring in buyers and see our seafood being celebrated at an international festival,” said Minister Campbell.
The ISF takes place all weekend at Peake’s Quay in Charlottetown. For more information on the ISF, visit www.peishellfish.com.
For more information about Innovation PEI or the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development, visit www.gov.pe.ca.