A record number of entries for the Seafood Awards 2007 has underlined the innovation and dynamism that lies at the heart of the UK seafood industry.
Organised by Seafish, the biennial Seafood Awards were set up to raise standards and reward best practice in the seafood business. The awards cover every sector of the industry including catching, aquaculture, processing, retailing, food service and catering.
There are a number of new categories for 2007, including the Sustainable Future Award which has attracted a huge amount of interest, highlighting the importance the seafood industry places on environmental responsibility.
Phil MacMullen, Head of Environmental Responsibility at Seafish, said: “The judges have been extremely impressed by the number, quality and range of entries for all the award categories.
“We have been particularly pleased by the number of entries for the Sustainable Future Award. The imaginative and committed solutions that have been devised show the extent the seafood industry is looking to the future and how seriously it is taking environmental challenges.”
Other new categories include the UK Seafood Chef of the Year and the Schools Supporting Seafood Awards.
Previous winners have found the awards highly beneficial to their businesses. For example, the Loch Torridon Nephrops Management Group won the 2005 Catching for the Market Award, thanks to it being one of the first fisheries in the world to pass the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) Standard for well managed and sustainable fisheries.
Karen Starr of the Group said: “We entered the Seafood Awards primarily to draw attention to efforts going on within the fishing industry to improve fisheries and ensuring that our livelihoods - and the environment on which they depend - remain sustainable for the future.
“The award, when combined with all the other efforts we have made to manage the fishery responsibly, has helped to raise our profile. It has shown that our ideas are being recognised and hopefully considered for application to other areas.”
Judging for the Seafood Awards 2007 is being held throughout January and the glittering awards ceremony will be staged in London on 22 March at the Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square.
Full details of the awards can be found at www.seafish.org/seafoodawards
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