Our People, Our World Archives

Earlier this year, Sea Pact published its 2023 Summary Report, detailing the progress made in the 2023 Work Plan activities. Here are some key takeaways:

Data Collection on Tuna Fisheries

For the first time, Sea Pact members collected and aggregated source fishery data on fresh and frozen tuna. This effort aimed to identify collective improvement opportunities. Despite challenges in collecting some key data elements and the variety of fishery sources, the exercise yielded valuable outcomes.

Priority Identification: Long-line caught yellowfin tuna was identified as a top priority.
Revised Funding Guidelines: Sea Pact Project Funding Guidelines were revised to call for proposals focused on sustainability improvements in these fisheries.
Data Sharing: Members shared strategies for addressing data gap challenges, laying a strong foundation for future data collection efforts. In 2024, the focus will shift to snapper/grouper and mahi.

Project Funding Program

Sea Pact’s project funding program remains a core initiative. In 2023, members elected to fund several innovative projects:

Otoliths-Lada Canada: Assessing a novel technique for age determination in three North American crab species.
Ocean Strategies: Improving coordination and education between existing and future aquaculture industries and California’s commercial fishing community.

A new Sea Pact website was launched to provide a public platform for reporting outcomes and lessons learned from all funded projects.

Gender Equality Dialogues

Three Sea Pact members—Acme Smoked Fish, Fortune Fish and Gourmet, and Seattle Fish Company—participated in Seafood and Gender Equality’s inaugural Gender Equality Dialogues.

Membership Growth

Sea Pact welcomed two new members in 2023, Acme Smoked Fish and Blue Ocean Mariculture, furthering the organization’s mission and impact.

Looking Ahead

“Last year was a strong one for the organization,” said Sam Grimley, Sea Pact Executive Director. “We funded some really innovative projects that aligned with our sustainability priorities, saw our membership grow, and we are now excited to build off of the member activities, such as the source fishery data collection, as we embark on strategic planning and goal setting in 2024 that will support our members’ sustainability efforts.”

Be sure to check out the full report as well as the 2024 Work Plan here.

Marcus, and his sales support team, are known to quickly resolve any issue and provide great customer service to our customers! They work side-by-side with the sales team to make sure all orders are accurately delivered.

Marcus is a Colorado-native who joined the Seattle Fish & Lombardi Meats team after being with King Soopers for 10 years.

Learn more about Marcus in the Q&A below!

Q: What were you the most excited for in starting this position?

A: After spending 10 years on the retail side of food sales, I was most excited to learn about the other side of the business and being part of the team that was just as passionate about what they are doing as I am.

Q: What has been the most memorable project you’ve worked on?

A: The most memorable project I have been a part of was our Food Show in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last year. I work closely with the sales rep in that area and have a lot of interaction with our customers up there, so it was fun getting to meet everyone.

Q: What’s your favorite seafood or meat dish to enjoy?

A: My favorite seafood dish would probably have to be ceviche. The mix of the different vegetables and the fresh fish make it the perfect dish for a hot summer day.

Q: What are your favorite things to do outside of work?

A: Outside of work, I like to spend time with family and my dog. I like to spend time in the kitchen learning to make new things.

Thanks for sharing more about you Marcus, and for leading a great customer service team!

Seattle Fish Company is excited to highlight Nicholas Velasquez, who has been newly promoted to Quality Technician! Nick has an extensive background as a meat cutter and working in retail and joined the SFC team in September 2021. He has grown throughout the company – first starting as a fish cutter, then moving into inventory, and now helping manage the freshness of all products we send out to customers.

Nick shares, “I eventually found Seattle Fish by accident. Already working for King Soopers I had an Indeed account that I forgot to disactivate. I ended up receiving a job offer from Seattle because I had a lot of cutting experience. After a quick once over from Indeed, I called and met Juan who ended up hiring me to join the Seattle Fish crew! The rest is history.”

Get to know Nick better by reading his Q&A below!

What are some of your job responsibilities at SFC?

It’s my job to check the quality of all products in-house. From fresh fish to oysters to frozen products and expiration dates. I do daily checks to make sure products on the floor look great, the scaling machines are properly calibrated, and all our coolers are holding the proper temperature. I compile what is called a HACCP (Hazzard Analysis Critical Control Points) pack which is documentation of my findings to make sure we are following FDA Food Safety in the facility.

I am also in charge of checking all the returns that come back. I verify that the product did in fact come back and then whether the product is safe to put back into our stock or should be thrown away. I then fill out the proper documentation and pass it to sales to determine whether a credit should be issued or not.

I also help HR with new hire orientation. I run the HACCP/Food Safety portion of the orientation. I show all the proper safety videos and review the questions with the new hires.

What were you the most excited about joining the Seattle Fish team or experiencing in your new role at SFC? 

Learning something different! I love learning new things, and on all levels. So, taking on the new role as Quality Tech is super exciting for me because again, I’m learning more than I ever imagined in the roles of safety and quality. I’m even taking a class so I can be HACCP certified which I think is so awesome!

What are your favorite things to do outside of work?

Play with my kids! Whether I’m playing video games with the boys or going to the park, riding bikes. I love spending time with them. I also enjoy making music. I DJ on the side and it is my Zen place when I’m recording.

Thanks Nick for sharing a little more about your history with the company and why you enjoy your job! For current job openings at Seattle Fish & Lombardi Meats, check out postings on our website.

DENVER, CO, (February 15, 2024) – Seattle Fish Co. and Lombardi Brothers Meats have named Christian Maas as the company’s new President, effective March 1, 2024. Maas will succeed Derek Figueroa, who has decided to retire from Seattle Fish Co. and Lombardi Brothers Meats after nearly 34 years of service, effective March 22, 2024.

Derek has fulfilled many roles at Seattle Fish Co. from operations roles in the early 90s to accounting roles in the mid-to-late-90s. In 1999, he became Chief Financial Officer, serving until 2007. In 2007, he became Chief Operating Officer, rising to President in 2017, and then President & CEO in 2021.

Within the seafood industry Derek is widely known as a principled leader and is recognized as a thought leader in seafood, and sustainable practices and initiatives in particular. He is also notable for being a co-founder of the non-profit organization, Sea Pact. He has played many leading roles in industry associations including having served as chair of the National Fisheries Institute and as a board member at the Colorado Restaurant Association, the Colorado Restaurant Foundation, the Seafood Industry Research Fund, Project Angel Heart and the American Culinary Federation. He has also been honored widely including by The Colorado Restaurant Association, The Marine Stewardship Council and Vistage in the last 15 years.

Christian Maas will succeed Derek Figueroa as President starting March 1, 2024. Christian has an early career background in IT and Operations and has been working in President roles since 2011, when he first worked with Richard Harris, who leads Seattle Fish Co. and Lombardi Brothers Meats’ parent company, Founders Group of Food Companies. Christian joined the Founders Group in 2016 where he is a Managing Director and has served as President of three different companies within the group.

On his decision to retire, Derek Figueroa commented: “I’ve been truly fortunate to have found my calling and passion with Seattle Fish Company. The decision to leave is bittersweet as I truly love the company, the people, our positive impact on the industry and our communities, and have enjoyed the support of Founders and the Iacino family prior. While my passion and affinity for our business has not waned, I’ve had a dream to start my own business and, while there is no perfect time, this is the right time for me to transition. I have enormous respect for Christian Maas, and he will be an impactful leader as Seattle Fish and Lombardi continue to engage our markets and serve as the preeminent distributor in the Rocky Mountain West. I will cherish my time at Seattle Fish over the past thirty-four years, the many relationships forged, and I will forever be a champion for Seattle Fish, Lombardi, and Founders”.

On succeeding Derek Figueroa as President, Christian Maas commented: “You must admire Mose Iacino’s passion and determination to bring the freshest highest quality seafood to the Rocky Mountains and build out a multigenerational family business. A large part of that success has been due to the leadership of Derek Figueroa where his expertise and experience has made Seattle Fish one of the largest seafood distributors in the Western United States. With Founders’ most recent acquisition of Lombardi Brothers Meats in 2022, I look forward to working together in creating the foundation for success in the decades to come.”

There are no planned changes in customers’ primary contacts with respect to their business with Seattle Fish Co. or Lombardi Brothers Meats.

Please join us in thanking Derek for all he has done for Seattle Fish Co. over the past 34 years and for his partnership in passing the baton to Christian Maas. He will remain a friend and supporter of Seattle Fish Co., Lombardi Brothers Meats and Founders into the future.

Seattle Fish Company & Lombardi Brothers Meats are excited to announce that Brian Sucher has been hired in the role of Director of Sales. In this role, Brian will join the executive team and be responsible for leading our sales team (including foodservice, retail and sales support) by supporting and empowering them to achieve strong sales targets.

Prior to joining the SFC & LBM family, Brian built his entire career around food and the people who enjoy it. He was a butcher for 11 years and part-owner of butcher shop in Ogden, Utah. He spent the last 17 years in food distribution in various sales and leadership roles and is excited to join our team.

In his new role as Director of Sales, Brian hopes to bring a customer-focused perspective to the senior leadership team. He will assist them in prioritizing needs, developing sales plans, and upholding the Seattle Fish Company & Lombardi Brothers Meats brand promise.

In his first month in this role, Brian has been realigning sales support and the sales team. He has worked on continued integration of Lombardi Brothers Meats. In the near future, he plans to implement a new sales strategy with strong business goals.

Brian was born and raised in Brigham City, Utah. He lived in various places growing up but ultimately landed in Ogden, Utah where he met his wife of 15 years. Together, they have enjoyed moving around the US and have lived in Texas, Missouri, and are finally happy to have found their forever home in Denver. Brian has 4 children, all boys, and an awesome Goldendoodle named Rizzo.

Getting to know Brian Sucher better by reading his Q&A below:

What were you most excited about joining our team?

The opportunity to take on a newly created position within the company to positively impact change and contribute to an already great culture. After visiting and getting to know the team and the people that I would be working with, it just fit.

What are your favorite ways to unwind outside of work?

Spending time with my family and watching my two young boys play sports. They are both avid baseball and soccer players and you can usually find us warming the stands on most weekends. We enjoy many outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, floating, fishing, and running (though, running…not so much lately). I enjoy seeing live music with my wife and our music loving friends.

What is your favorite seafood? How do you like to prepare it?

Hands down, SCALLOPS. I like them lightly seared with a little butter and garlic.

Category Archives: Our People, Our World

Sea Pact 2023 Summary Report: A Year of Progress and Innovation

Data Collection on Tuna Fisheries

Project Funding Program

Gender Equality Dialogues

Membership Growth

Looking Ahead

Meet Marcus – our Sales Support Supervisor!

Meet Nick Velasquez: Quality Technician

Seattle Fish Company Appoints Christian Maas as President; Derek Figueroa Announces Retirement

Meet Brian Sucher – Director of Sales

Getting to know Brian Sucher better by reading his Q&A below: