Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation Joins 100% Great Lakes Fish Pledge

Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation today signed on to the “100% Great Lakes Fish Pledge,” publicly committing to use 100% of each commercially caught Great Lakes fish productively by 2025. Each year, the company processes approximately one million kilograms of fish from Lake Superior.
As part of the pledge, the company will also help communicate to other companies in the fish supply chain about opportunities for innovative applications for fish byproducts including compost, fertilizer, protein, marine collagen, leather, or other new, high-value products. Twenty-seven companies overall have now signed the pledge.

This pledge is part of the 100% Great Lakes Fish initiative created by the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers (GSGP), an organization representing the Governors of the Great Lakes States and the Canadian Premiers of Ontario and Québec.
“I commend Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation for participating in the 100% Great Lakes Fish Pledge. Their commitment bolsters our efforts and will help enhance the sustainability of our fisheries,” David Naftzger, Executive Director of GSGP, said.

The Great Lakes are home to sizeable commercial fisheries, but only the fillets of these fish are usually eaten while the remaining 60% of the fish is often relegated to inexpensive uses or discarded. The 100% Great Lakes Fish initiative seeks to find new and innovative ways to use the whole fish in order to reduce waste, create more value and jobs, and support rural economic development. Iceland pioneered this approach and has seen the value of products made from each cod skyrocket from $12 for just the filet to a remarkable $5,000 for products including cosmetics, medical bandages, nutritional supplements and a range of other products.

“We are excited to join the 100% Great Lakes Fish Pledge and to collaborate on finding sustainable uses for fish byproducts while combating waste in our industry,” said Audrey Comte, V.P. of Operations for Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. “This commitment aligns with our goals of promoting sustainability and creating value from every part of the fish we process. We look forward to working with our partners to innovate and find new applications for fish byproducts.”

Companies participating in the 100% Great Lakes Fish Pledge include:

Read the pledge here.