Nazeing, Essex, England-based Fresco Fisheries has joined the McLean, Virginia, USA-headquartered National Fisheries Institute’s (NFI) Crab Council as its 32nd member. In business since 1989, the importing and wholesaling company supplies a diverse line of premium seafood products to customers in the United Kingdom and throughout continental Europe.
“Fresco Fisheries has always equated sustainability with authenticity,” said Product and Sales Manager Ed Gravestock. “As we venture into the blue swimming crab market, we want our brand to have come from the same management-conscious fisheries as our other established products. We have joined the Crab Council to further this commitment.”
The British company is the Crab Council’s fourth member from outside the United States, along with Ocean Source Group, Poseidon Food and Fisherman’s Choice. The council’s funding for fishery improvement projects in Southeast Asia comes from an assessment placed on the pounds of blue swimming crab imported by its members.
“The crabmeat industry is international in scope,” said Crab Council Chairman Brendan Sweeny. “The more support the council receives from the global market the more our work in Southeast Asia benefits our common source fisheries.”
The NFI Crab Council was founded in 2009 and funds blue swimming crab sustainability projects through contributions from participating companies and has received grants from the World Bank, the Walton Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Seafood Industry Research Fund.
