This year, Sea Pact has committed to publishing a quarterly newsletter to share information with its members, such as organizational updates, current projects the group is funding, and more. Sea Pact is a group of leading North American Seafood Companies dedicated to driving stewardship and continuous improvement of social, economic, and environmental responsibility throughout the global seafood supply chain.
As a founding member of Sea Pact, Seattle Fish Company is excited to share this quarter’s newsletter with our customers, vendors and community, providing updates and transparency around the work we do within the group.
One of the exciting things mentioned in the newsletter was Sea Pact members and advisors gathering in-person and virtually for a meeting on Kent Island, MD in July, which Hamish Walker, Seattle Fish Co.’s Chief Sustainability and Development Officer, attended. During the meeting, Sea Pact members selected a diverse range of projects for the current funding cycle and made strong progress on action plans for Sea Pact’s strategic priorities. Projects for the current funding cycle include Global Tuna Alliance, Mote Marine Laboratory, FishWise and more.
Look for more information and updates on these projects in the year to come. If you’d like to sign up to receive Sea Pact’s quarterly newsletters, click here.
Miriam Castillo joined the Seattle Fish Human Resources team in May 2022, quickly acclimating to the role, lining up interviews, and becoming an important member of our SFC family.
Miriam was born and raised in South Denver and is currently attending school to attain her degree in Human Resource Management. Before working with Seattle Fish, she was in the banking industry for seven years, with her last position being at BOK Financial as an admin assistant for their Community Relations manager. In that role, she most enjoyed serving the community, something that Seattle Fish also values.
As Human Resources Assistant, Miriam’s main job responsibilities include recruiting for our productions team, answering HR-related questions, and supporting and translating for our Spanish-speaking employees as well as for all HR and company-wide communication.
In her first few months in the role, Miriam has enjoyed getting to know her co-workers and building relationship in order to better our internal company communication.
“We are so lucky to have Miriam on our team!” says Sarah Carfield, HR Manager. “She is working so hard getting interviews lined up, new SFC employees hired, and is just doing an amazing job. Thanks for everything you do for the HR department and SFC as a whole. We are lucky to work with you!”
Get to know Miriam Castillo better by reading her Q&A below!
What were you the most excited about joining the Seattle Fish team?
I was very excited about using my Spanish speaking skill, learning more about HR and the company’s core value of philanthropy.
What are your favorite ways to unwind outside of work?
I enjoy spending time with my twin boys and taking them on adventures in the city or in the mountains. One of my favorite things to do in the summer is go to Rockies games.
You know we have to ask… What’s your favorite seafood? How do you like to prepare it?
I absolutely love Salmon because of how easily it can be cooked. Recently I marinated salmon in spicy teriyaki sauce for about an hour, then threw it in the air fryer for about 7-10 minutes and served it over a bed of white jasmine rice and roasted veggies!
Happy National Oyster Day, friends! If you’re looking to enjoy oysters at home today (or any day!), Seattle Fish CEO & President Derek Figueroa has some great tips for you on this segment by Good Morning America. Not only are oysters delicious, they are extremely sustainable and also versatile! Did you know that oysters take on the characteristics of the environment in which they are brought up in? This is the oyster’s “merrior” or “sense of place” and it’s the reason why no matter how many oysters you try, they will all have a unique flavor profile. This is also why they are Derek’s favorite food. Cheers!
Did you know National Oyster Day is this Friday, August 5th? Oysters hold a special place in our hearts at Seattle Fish Co. because back in 1918, our founder Mose Iacino started this company as a way to sell the oysters that he sourced from Seattle to local chefs in Denver. We’re thrilled to share this Forbes article featuring our CEO & President Derek Figueroa, where he shares tips for how to best enjoy oysters at home and in restaurants!
Seattle Fish is proud to partner with Miller Poultry to bring their all-natural, high-quality chicken to our customers! Our Gourmet Sales Manager Brandi and Sales Representative Diane recently had the opportunity to visit the Miller Poultry farm in Orland, Indiana and experience first-hand the passion, care, and hands-on approach that the Miller family puts into their business – from the hen house, all the way to the harvesting facility.
Miller is a third-generation family-owned business. In 1974, Galen Miller and his father made the switch from raising turkeys to raising chickens, a story that Galen shared with Brandi and Diane personally their first night as they enjoyed a family BBQ with Galen and Matt, Miller’s president. Growing up in Amish country, Galen shared, his family wanted to keep the opportunities within the community. He also made the decision to deviate from the industry standard and feed his birds an all-vegetarian diet. online pharmacy buy wellbutrin online best drugstore for you
Today, Miller’s home-grown chickens are fed a corn and soy-based diet with no antibiotics, no artificial ingredients or coloring, and no hormones, which is produced at their own feed mill in New Paris, Indiana. Samples are pulled from each truckload of corn and soy to measure for crop quality and moisture content before it goes into processing and Miller’s nutritionist is continually testing finished feed pellets for top quality and nutrition content.
Brandi and Diane’s tour continued through the Miller offices, hatchery, feed mill, Amish grower barn and production facility.
The process begins at the hatchery, where hundreds of thousands of eggs arrive daily from Miller breeder farms. Eggs can be cooled and held for up to ten days before moving to the incubation chambers so new flocks hatch at the exact right time. online pharmacy buy flexeril online best drugstore for you
Once in the incubation chamber, eggs are held in temperature controlled and ventilated chambers with racks that tilt 90 degrees every 45 minutes to mimic how a hen would turn her eggs throughout the day. This process lasts 21 days. The chambers are carefully monitored for temperature, humidity and CO2 so if anything is off alerts go straight to the phones of on-call team members.
Around day 14, the future flocks are spot checked with a process called “Candling” to check for fertilization and embryo development, which is done by holding up a flashlight to the egg, illuminating what is happening inside. Once they are done incubating, the fertilized eggs make their way to a hatching chamber where, over an 18-hour period, the chickens emerge from their shells.
Specially designed trucks help the newly hatched chicks to one of Miller’s grower barns. This is done with immense care, as the chicks give off one BTU of heat per pound, so the trucks need to have exactly the right cooling and ventilation systems to make the chicks comfortable on their journey. Each grower barn is additionally constructed with care, and are built and monitored to ensure Miller Chickens live a comfortable life, including having a certain number of “playground elements” per square foot (anything the birds can climb on, lay on, or interact with).
Every Miller chicken has ample space and is “free to roam”. Additionally, and unlike commodity barns, Miller chickens have 24/7 access to water and feed. After 42 days of care, the chickens are rounded up by hand to bring to the processing plant.
Apart from the chickens and farm, Brandi and Diane were also impressed by the way the Miller family cares for their employees as much as they do their flocks. With the recent expansion of processing facilities, the Miller family built a state-of-the-art cafeteria that will serve fresh, nutritious, low-cost, company supplemented meals while employees are working.
If you’d like to learn more about the Miller Poultry products that you can source from Seattle Fish Co., please reach out to your sales representative or call us at 303-329-9595.
Exciting Changes Ahead for Seattle Fish Co. & Lombardi Brothers Meats
We’re thrilled to share some exciting news about the future of Seattle Fish Company and Lombardi Brothers Meats. As part of our ongoing commitment to providing you with exceptional products and services, we have a major initiative underway: Lombardi Brothers Meats will be relocating its operations to our Seattle Fish warehouse at 6211 E 42nd Avenue.
This transition is targeted for completion by November 4th. By integrating our operations, we will be able to offer you a combined meat and seafood selection at lower costs with even faster response times, ensuring we continue to meet and exceed your expectations.
As part of the transition to our new location, Lombardi Brothers Meats will be temporarily shutting down operations fromNovember 1st-3rd, with production resuming on November 4th. To ensure you have everything you need, we encourage you to place orders early for any non-stocked Lombardi items. This will help us fulfill your requests in advance and minimize any disruptions.
If you have any questions, or need assistance in placing orders, please contact your sales representative or send us a message at info@seattlefish.com.
