By George Lauriat, AJOTThe International Boston Seafood Show held place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, from March 15-17th 2009, is considered to be the preeminent seafood conference and exhibition in North America. This year’s show, despite the unfavorable economic flow, again had a strong turnout of buyers, sellers and service providers engaged in the seafood industry from all corners of the globe. The three-day event, which attracted nearly 18,000 participants, has been coming to Boston for nearly thirty years and specializes in bringing buyers and sellers of seafood products and services face to face in a carnival like atmosphere that belies the serious nature of the business. At the heart of the show are the exhibition booths that number more than eight hundred. Many of the booths have samples ready to eat, while others demonstrate some of the very latest technology being employed in the seafood industry. Skipping breakfast is a key to enjoying the show, as the exhibitors relish the hungry and inquisitive. The speakers ranged from Japanese “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto to Dr. Barbara Blackstone, Director of Scientific Affairs for the National Fisheries Institute and Andy Cohen Special Agent-in-Charge for NOAA Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement. Cohen specializes in international investigations, involving organized crime syndicates smuggling high value commodities, such as blue fin tuna, caviar and Patagonian toothfish. The show annually pulls in representatives from ninety countries. The exhibitors are an eclectic group. On one hand some of the largest seafood companies in the world exhibit while dotted here and there are mom & pop shops trying to break into the international marketplace. It’s this combination that gives the exhibition its unique atmosphere. It’s probably the only show with Louisiana Seafood and Marketing Board (Cajun specialties), Florida Alligator Marketing and Education and the Turkish Seafood Promotion Board, all under one roof. Another interesting feature of the seafood is the “New Product Display and Competition”. Among the more unusual products displayed were Azuma Food’s “shrimp sheet” – a square frozen sheet of fully cooked shrimp meat ready to be defrosted for quick use. McKnight Smokehouse introduced “Salmon Pizza” and Smoked Salmon Bagel slice (a circular cut of smoked salmon designed to fit on a bagel) among their entries. Over the years, delegations have grown from Asia. This year’s show added a new delegation from Vietnam. Twenty-six members of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) exhibited their products and information at the show. The Vietnam exported, $761 million worth of seafood to the US in 2008. The country has cracked the top ten in world seafood exports, posting $4.5 billion in revenue last year. As in year’s past, a strong Canadian delegation was in attendance at the show. It’s understandable as Canada the world’s sixth largest exporter of seafood, and the US is its best customer. Just prior to the show, Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea announced preliminary trade figures for seafood. According to Shea, Canada’s exports of fish and seafood products in 2008 totaled $3.06 billion, up 0.5% over last year. In terms of weight, seafood products topped 632,000 mt. The US market accounts for over half of Canada’s seafood exports. In 2008, Canada’s seafood exports to the US tallied $1.88 billion at roughly 328,000 mt. The EU (European Union) is also a significant market for Canada, importing $489 million, or approximately 14% of Canada’s fish and seafood products. Japan, a long to buyer of Canadian seafood ranks third ($294 million) and an advancing China market fourth ($259 million). Not surprisingly, Canada’s four most valuable exports were lobster, crab, salmon and shrimp, accounting for 46% of all fish and seafood exports by volume and 65% in value. Lobster remains number one, with exports approaching a billion dollars. Canada’s Atlantic Maritime Province