SIRF Timeline:

June 11, 1964 – IRS granted 501 (c )(3) under Lewis Goldstein Memorial Scholarship Fund 

July 26, 1966 – Renamed to Fisheries Scholarship Fund 

February 17, 1997 – Fisheries Scholarship Fund incorporated. 

February 6, 2012 – Renamed to Seafood Industry Research Fund, Inc. (SIRF) 

January 22, 2024 – SIRF’s Annual Benefit Soiree celebrates SIRF’s 60th anniversary and gathered industry leaders for an evening dedicated to raising funds for seafood research. The soiree raised over $86,000. 

March 9, 2024 – The 10th Annual NFI Future Leaders Program Alumni Networking Event was held in Boston. This event has raised $101,860 for the Wallace R. “Wally” Future Leaders Perpetual Fund over the past 10 years.   

March 10, 2024 – The 30th Annual Gorton Cup Hockey Game Fundraiser to benefit SIRF was held, with 20 seafood industry professionals hitting the ice and raising $9.280. 

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While maintaining a mission of seafood innovation, SIRF’s roots remain firmly planted within the industry’s history. As an organization, SIRF began as the Lewis Goldstein Memorial Fund in 1964. The fund was established as a tribute to Lewis Goldstein of Philadelphia’s Liberty Fish Company, who died in a plane crash during his term as NFI Chairman. The subsequent fund opened in his name provided a means to honor Mr. Goldstein and set a precedent for memorializing others who have made a lasting impact on the seafood community. 

The Lewis Goldstein Memorial Fund, established to honor its late namesake (second from left) who died in plane crash while serving as NFI Chairman

For 60 years and more than 50 funds later, the Lewis Goldstein Memorial Fund has transformed from the Fisheries Scholarship Fund during the 1980s into its current state as the Seafood Industry Research Fund (SIRF). In 2012, former Chairman Russ Mentzer led a rebranding strategy, which included the SIRF name change, to further align the research organization’s image with its mission. The new SIRF-era has seen a redoubled focus on funding scientific research directly linked to industry improvements within the relevant fields of aquaculture, food safety and seafood nutrition, among others. 

Julie Child was honored as NFI’s Person of the Year in 1992. She accepts a contribution from Fisheries Scholarship Fund Chairman Murry Berger  on behalf of Boston University’s School of Gastronomy

Since achieving an original endowment milestone of $1 million in 1994, SIRF has expanded its coffers and continues to operate at over $4.7 million. The generosity of the seafood industry has enabled SIRF to fund over 400 grants performed by 80 universities, totaling over $4 million since 1964. The seafood industry’s support for scientific research that started with the Lewis Goldstein Memorial Fund continues to this day with recent funds the John P. Connelly Memorial Fund, which raised over $86,000 in January 2024. SIRF continues to acknowledge and pay tributes to seafood industry leaders and foster close ties with the academic community and award grants to researchers who seek to improve the seafood industry. 

Help continue SIRF’s mission of funding forward-thinking seafood research by donating to any of our open funds. Thank you for your SIRF support.