Gorton's of Gloucester

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 (born 1832) (an ancestor of Slade Gorton the former U.S. Senator), 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.

eafood 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.fact|date=April 2008

Nutrition

One year ahead of the January 1, 2006 federal deadline, Gorton’s of Gloucester removed trans fat from its entire line of 56 products.

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

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. [ [http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/our-oceans/whaling/gortons greenpeace.org] ]

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 divest its ownership in the company that owned the whaling fleet. Greenpeace hailed this as a victory [ [http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/the-expedition/news/nissui-sealord-gortons greenpeace.org] ] and the boycott of Gorton's ended.

Popular culture

Fans of the New York Rangers of the NHL often taunt their rival team the New York Islanders and its fans. In the mid-1990s, the Islanders briefly changed their uniform from their traditional logo to a more new-age logo that featured a fisherman that many thought resembled the Gorton's logo. Rangers fans have been known to chant "We want fishsticks" at both Madison Square Garden and the Nassau Coliseum during games between the teams.

In an edition of "WWE Magazine", the feature "Would You Buy This?" was a parody of Gorton's, calling it "Orton's" and replacing the fisherman with wrestler Randy Orton.

In the 2006 Halloween edition of the popular cartoon website, Homestar Runner, The King of Town is dressed as the fisherman in the Gorton's logo.

References

External links

* [http://www.gortons.com/ Official retail website]
* [http://www.gortonsfreshseafood.com/ Gorton's Fresh Seafood] , another official website
* [http://www.bluewaterfish.com/ BlueWater Seafoods] , Gorton's subsidiary in Canada
* [http://refrigeratedfrozenfood.com/content.php?s=RF/2004/08&p=4 See Food Differently] , an August 2004 trade magazine story about Gorton's
* [http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-ng.asp?id=41445-unilever-sells-seafood Unilever sells seafood business] , an August 2001 article
* [http://gortons.com/protecting-our-resources.php Gorton's on Protecting their Resources]

Whaling

* [http://www.eia-international.org/cgi/news/news.cgi?t=template&a=282 Environmental Investigation Agency's report on Gorton's link to Japan's whale hunt.]