Gorton's of Gloucester

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Gorton's of Gloucester is a subsidiary of the Japanese seafood conglomerate Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd., producing fishsticks and other frozen seafood for the retail market in the United States. Gorton’s also has a North American foodservice business which sells to fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's, and an industrial coating ingredients operation. It has been headquartered in Gloucester, Massachusetts since 1849.

The company was founded by Slade Gorton, originally selling salt cod and mackerel. In the early 1900s, the company, then known as Gorton-Pew Fisheries, occupied 15 wharves and 35 buildings in Gloucester, with six other plants on the east coast and a fleet of 55 fishing vessels.

In May 1995 Unilever bought Gorton's from General Mills.

In August 2001, Unilever sold Gorton's and BlueWater Seafoods to Nippon Suisan (USA), Inc., a subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. for $175 million in cash.

1 Seafood Sustainability
2 Commitment to Quality
3 Gorton's Product Line
4 Whaling
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Whaling

[edit] Seafood Sustainability

Gorton’s purchases a wide variety of seafood raw materials, of which Alaska Pollock, a fish native to the Bering Sea, is the most important and primary source of supply. This resource is managed under provisions of United States federal law that require rigorous scientific assessment of the condition of the fishery and conservative catch allowances. The quota each season is only a small fraction of the total available resource, and all players – whether vessel operators or legislators – take an active role to see that the rules governing the harvest are followed. These Conservative management practices have resulted in this fishery being recognized as the world’s best managed sustainable seafood resource.

[edit] Commitment to Quality

One year ahead of the January 1, 2006 federal deadline, Gorton’s of Gloucester removed trans fat from its entire line of 56 products. By doing so, Gorton’s became the first national frozen seafood brand to offer consumers a complete line of fish products that contain zero grams of trans fat.

[edit] Gorton's Product Line

Gorton's Line of products include the following:

Shrimp Temptations:

Shrimp Scampi Shrimp Temptations
Lemon Butter Shrimp Temptations

Premium Flounder Fillets

Grilled Fillet Meals:

Lemon and Herb Butter
Alfredo Fillet Meals

Beer Batter Fillets

Shrimp Bowls

Fried Rice Shrimp Bowls
Primavera Shrimp Bowls
Garlic Butter Shrimp Bowls
Alfredo Shrimp Bowls
Teriyaki Shrimp Bowls

Grilled Fillets:

Lemon Pepper Grilled Fillets
Garlic Butter Grilled Fillets
Cajun Blackened Grilled Fillets
Lemon Butter Grilled Fillets
Char-Grilled Fillets
Italian Herb Grilled Fillets
Caesar Parmesan

Grilled Salmon:

Classic Grilled Salmon
Lemon Butter Grilled Salmon

Popcorn Fish

Tenders:

Original Batter Tenders
Extra Crunchy Tenders

Fish Sticks:

Available in quantities of 12, 18, 30 & 44 Fish Sticks
Mini Fish Sticks

Traditional Fillets:

Crispy Battered Fillets
Crunchy Golden Fillets

Flavor Fillets:

Garlic and Herb Fillets
Southern Fried Fillets
Lemon Pepper Fillets
Parmesan Breaded Fillets
Ranch Fillets

Popcorn Shrimp:

Original Popcorn Shrimp
Garlic and Herb Popcorn Shrimp
Beer Batter Popcorn Shrimp

[edit] Whaling

In 2005, Gorton's came under attack from the Environmental Investigation Agency, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Greenpeace, due to their parent company's involvement in whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. These groups hope that international companies owned by Nippon Suisan Kaisha (such as Gorton's) will persuade their parent company to stop supporting whaling if they are put under enough pressure.^[1]

Gorton’s is on record stating that the company has never engaged in any whaling activities, never killed a single whale in its entire 156 year history and never will. Gorton’s has always been opposed to whaling and has a long history and recognized commitment to environmental sustainability. Eventually Nippon Suisan Kaisha agreed to de-vest shares from in the company which owned the whaling fleet. Greenpeace hailed this as a victory ^[2] and the boycott of Gorton's ended.