Month: June 2022

Thomas E. “Tom” Elliott, Sr.​

Living Tribute Fund​

Established 2012​

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Thomas Elliott served as a regional vice president and general manager for Slade Gorton & Co. He started his career in the seafood industry co-founding and running TEMA, Inc., a commodity seafood import brokerage company based in San Francisco, California. Mr. Elliott also served as the president of the California Seafood Institute from 1977 to 1978 and later president of the National Fisheries Institute from 1988 to 1989. He passed away in 2014. 

Susan B. Chamberlain​

Memorial Fund​

Established 2012​

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Susan Chamberlain, wife to George Chamberlain, was a central force in establishing and growing the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), the world’s leading aquaculture certification body that is now known as the Global Seafood Alliance.​ She managed the GAA office in St. Louis, helped organize its annual GOAL meeting, and spearheaded the evolution of the “Global Aquaculture Advocate” from newsletter to magazine and online publication.

William N. Bloom​

Living Tribute Fund, Established 2006​

Memorial Fund, Established 2011​

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William Bloom was the founder of the Eastern Fish Company, located in Teaneck, New Jersey. Mr. Bloom became a member of the National Fisheries Institute in 1974. He served as chairman in 1998, a position held by his son, Eric Bloom, ten years later. He was an avid supporter of SIRF. In 2011, the SIRF Board of Directors established a memorial fund for William in recognition of his leadership in the seafood industry.​

Stephen H. Warhover​

Living Tribute Fund​

Established 2010​

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Stephen Warhover was the chief executive officer and president of Gorton’s Seafood. He started his career working as a marketing assistant at General Mills and worked his way to vice president and general manager.  He was appointed CEO of Gorton’s Inc. in 1986 and retired in 2009. He is an alumnus of Dartmouth College and received his MBA from Kellogg Graduate School at Northwestern University.​

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Bill Herzig​

Living Tribute Fund​

Established 2010​

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Bill Herzig began his 23-year career at Rich-SeaPak Corporation, now the Rich Products Consumer Brands Division, in St. Simons, Georgia. He worked as the senior vice president of operations, procurement, quality assurance and commodity sales before taking a position as director of seafood purchasing for Darden Restaurants in 1997. He later became the vice president of seafood purchasing and then president of Darden Aquafarms, a lobster aquaculture facility in Malaysia. Mr. Herzig received the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. ​

Charles H. “Chuck” Bundrant​

Living Tribute Fund​

Established 2009​

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Chuck Bundrant was the founder and chairman of Trident Seafoods, the largest vertically integrated seafood harvesting and processing company in North America. Mr. Bundrant started his career in the seafood industry as a deckhand on a crabbing boat in Alaska before founding Trident Seafoods in 1973. He struck several notable business deals with major corporations, including one with McDonald’s that made the company switch their fish sandwiches from cod to polluck. He also was very involved with fisheries legislation. Mr. Bundrant valued the employees at the heart of his company and said they were like family. He passed away in 2021. ​

Roy E. Martin​

Living Tribute Fund​

Established 2008​

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Roy Martin was a professional staff member of the National Fisheries Institute for 27 years. Mr. Martin joined the NFI as director of the science and technology department. His responsibilities included long-range development and communication of technologies to aid future advances in the seafood industry, among which included smoked fish research, aquaculture drugs, HACCP, shellfish regulation, and Codex standards. After 42 years in the food industry, Roy retired from the NFI as senior vice president.  ​

Joel Kolen​

Living Tribute Fund​

Established 2007​

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Joel Kolen was the president of Empress International. He also served as president of the National Fisheries Institute and chairman of the Seafood Industry Research Fund (SIRF) board. Mr. Kolen was pivotal in rebranding the Fisheries Scholarship Fund (FSF) to the SIRF. He retired from his SIRF chairmanship position in 2012.​

Peter V. Cardone​

Living Tribute Fund​

Established  2007​

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Peter Cardone founded Harbor Seafood in 1975. He started his career as a chef and used his culinary experience to expand Harbor Seafood from a general food brokerage into an international seafood importer and exporter. Mr. Cardone discovered a passion for the seafood industry after working with the Wakefield line. Pete served as chairman and president of the National Fisheries Institute and was a board member and longtime supporter of SIRF.​

Wallace R. Stevens ​

Living Tribute Fund​

Established 2006​

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Wally Stevens is an outstanding leader in the seafood industry. His seafood career includes the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA), Slade Gorton, Ocean Products, and Booth Fisheries. Before entering the industry, Wally served in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1965, assisting with transporting men and materials to and from Southeast Asia. He was an integral part of GSA’s growth as well as the expansion of its Best Aquaculture Practices certification program. Mr. Stevens served as the National Fisheries Institute chairman in 2001 and co-founded the NFI Future Leaders Program. He was inducted into the Boston Seafood Hall of Fame in 2017.​