More Rhode Island restaurants and fish markets are taking part in an effort to promote fresh, locally caught seafood than three years ago, according to the R.I. Department of Environmental Management.
And it isn’t just a fluke.
Through a concerted effort buoyed by a $300,000 grant obtained by DEM in 2021 from the Saltonstall-Kennedy Program, which is administered by the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Collaborative was able to grow from around 30 or so participants into a collection of 83 restaurants, seafood markets and dealers, according to Molly Moran-Ogren, chairperson for the initiative. Those businesses now all carry a Rhode Island Seafood logo, the state’s seal of approval for bona fide locally caught fish.
While the three-year grant helped expand the overall reach of the collaborative, the main thrust of the federally funded campaign was to boost the consumption of some of the state’s unsung species of seafood, Moran-Ogren says.
That meant hiring a seafood marketing specialist and offering cookbooks at Dave’s Fresh Marketplace stores, libraries and state websites. And it involved spreading brand awareness to 1.6 million people through billboards, internet advertising, local posters and social media campaigns focusing on fisherman profiles and recipes
It was part of an effort to sell Rhode Islanders on the deliciousness of dishes such as grilled bluefish, tautog ceviche, striped bass tacos, steamed scup with ginger and scallions, sea robin stuffing and rock crab jalapeno poppers.
“We’ve been doing this to help consumers buy relatively unknown seafood species, and to make it less scary, if you will, to try it while dining out and to make it at home,” said Moran-Ogren, whose official title is chief of program development for DEM’s Bureau of Natural Resources.
The main goals of the Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Collaborative, which was established in 2011 by the General Assembly, are to encourage more sustainable, local food sourcing practices and to stimulate the state’s blue economy by supporting the fishermen, wholesalers, restaurants and markets that sell the state’s more than $100 million in annual commercial seafood landings.
“The value of this program is that it takes some of the burden of marketing and brand awareness away from these businesses so they can focus on what they do best,” Moran-Ogren said.
Kevin DiLibero, director of culinary arts at Newport Restaurant Group, which operates 11 restaurants in Rhode Island and four in Massachusetts, says it sometimes can be tough to get diners to bite on fish dishes that don’t include the words salmon, swordfish or tuna.
“It’s tough because a lot of people aren’t so open to something new,” DiLibero said. “We’re trying to change that perception.”
On his end, DiLibero says it’s important to train wait staff – the company employs 800 typically but about 1,250 during the summer – to become familiar with the lesser-known types of seafood.
“It’s a full understanding to our staff about how the fish migrate, what they eat and what it pairs with so they can confidently talk about the fish or species in front of the guest,” DiLibero said. “It’s about creating an experience. If you have a server who is confident in his understanding about the dish he’s selling to you, you have more confidence buying that. You trust them a little more than when they say, ‘I don’t know, I have to go ask the chef.’ ”
While promoting overlooked species of Rhode Island seafood is commendable, one member of the Seafood Marketing Collaborative says quotas placed on fishermen for fish such as tautog and striped bass make them infeasible to sell in large quantities. Tom LaFazia, sales manager for Narragansett Bay Lobsters Inc., says fishermen are only allowed to catch five stripers per day during a 12-day season, and 10 tautogs per day.
“Those restrictions make it more of a hobby fishery at this point,” said LaFazia, whose truck carries a Rhode Island Seafood logo. “Any kind of public awareness is always a good thing for any kind of seafood. It’s certainly not a negative to put it out there for people. But with tautog – they are 3 to 4 pounds a piece – you’re talking 40 pounds of fish that a guy can catch each day. Once you look at the dollars and cents – fuel, bait and gear – it’s becoming not really profitable.”
DiLibero, however, says it’s still a “no-brainer” to embrace the Rhode Island seafood campaign, which has its logo on display at Hemenway’s Restaurant on South Main Street in Providence.
“It’s important to educate our diners on what our local waters have to offer,” DiLibero said. “I don’t know if you’ve ever had tautog. It’s one of the best fish you can eat. It’s delicious. All our scallops and calamari are caught by a local fisherman. We really try to focus on that stuff, while appealing to our larger clientele.
“Some people don’t realize swordfish are out of the water 21 days before they hit a dock, sometimes,” he added. “Some of the local fish we serve is out of the water for just a couple hours and it’s in our walk-ins. And it ties back into the community. Keeping money in the state helps everyone.”
