Seafood Expo North America: Why You Should Go

Grab your snorkel and mask, watch old episodes of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, and get ready for the Seafood Expo North America (SENA), which is returning to Boston from March 16-18. I'll definitely be there, my fifth year of attendance, but will you?

If you are a writer, and cover any topics related to seafood, from recipes to sustainability, then I strongly encourage you to attend. As I have said before, "the seafood show is fertile soil for a myriad of story ideas as each exhibit booth has its own unique and interesting story." Any writer who attends this show should easily find the seeds for at least a dozen stories, and likely many more.

SENA is a huge trade show, and there will be over 1000 exhibitors, from over 40 countries, showcasing a wide diversity of products and services. This is an excellent place to learn more about a myriad of seafood issues, to talk to numerous seafood businesses, to explore the seafood industry. You can learn more about different countries, such as by visiting the Japanese Pavilion. In addition, the show is fun, with plenty of delicious seafood samples, from lobster to oysters. Ever had salmon bacon? Fried alligator? You never know what might be available to sample at SENA.

We all know that seafood is at the crux of some of the most important food issues in the world. The range of seafood topics touches on so many crucial matters, from sustainability to health. Not only is it delicious, but it provides numerous health benefits. It is integral to the economic health of many local businesses, from fishermen to restaurants. The potential extinction of certain fish species is a major concern that needs to be addressed. These are all issues which need more coverage by the media, and which you can make your own contributions.

Why do I care? First, I view our local writers and bloggers as a community and I believe we all benefit by helping each other, giving recommendations for excellent events. Second, I feel that seafood is a vital topic which more people need to write about so that we raise attention to all of its urgent issues. That will benefit all of us in many ways. It is with greater exposure and cooperative efforts that we can cause change in the seafood industry.

As an added incentive, iPura, a food safety company, is holding their 4th Annual iPura Tweet & Blogfest. The concept is for local bloggers to tweet and blog about SENA and then their writings will be assessed by an impartial judge. You will be judged on the quality, content, creativity/originality, number of entries, and depth of your tweets and blog posts concerning SENA. The Winner receives a prize of $1000! Certainly a worthy prize and I am proud to say that I won last year's competition. Of course I will be entering the contest again, to try to maintain my crown, and I encourage all local bloggers to toss their hats in the ring too and try to win.  

And as another incentive, SENA is also held in conjunction with the New England Food Show, where you will find a plethora of food and drink related products and services, from wine to cheese, spirits to locally produced foods. You can easily visit both shows, and the Food Show will give you fodder for even more stories. If you go to both of these shows, you won't be able to complain about writer's block for months at least.

So I hope to see you this year at the Seafood Expo North America. And if you want to read more about SENA, check out my posts from last year's show.