The Seafood Industry Research Fund (SIRF) Board of Directors has unanimously approved the formation of the Ed Morey, Founder, Morey’s Fish Company, Memorial Fund. The fund honors Mr. Morey’s leadership within the seafood industry as well as his support for seafood research.
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Seafood Industry Research Fund Announces the Ed Morey Memorial Fund
The Seafood Industry Research Fund (SIRF) Board of Directors has unanimously approved the formation of the Ed Morey, Founder, Morey’s Fish Company, Memorial Fund.
Ed Morey founded Morey’s Fish Company in 1937. Ed was a logger, farmer and baker who traded a load of sweetcorn for a load of seafood from a fisherman whose truck broke down in Ed’s hometown of Motley, Minnesota. As they say, the rest is history. In 1964, Morey’s became a true family business when Ed’s son, Loren, joined the operation. With Ed and Loren’s leadership, the business continued to expand and today Morey’s frozen and smoked fish and seafood can be found in retail stores and on dinner tables across the U.S.
Loren Morey served as the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) Chairman in 1985 and remained active in guiding NFI for many years. Loren chose to name it solely after his father, but with this new fund SIRF hopes to acknowledge the contributions of both Ed and Loren Morey and all they have done for NFI, SIRF, families in Motley, Minnesota, and the seafood industry broadly.
“Ed Morey’s history is a fascinating tale of hard work, innovation, and foresight,” said SIRF Chairman, Sean O’Scannlain, President and CEO of Fortune International. “Ed put seafood on the Midwest map, paving the way for companies like mine, also based far from any U.S. coastline.”
Loren generously donated $60,000 to the fund, and SIRF has already received interest from others to support the fund as well.
“Loren, like his father so often did, is looking to the future with a fund that will benefit the seafood community for years to come. Their generosity is a testament to the company and the family,” said O’Scannlain.
SIRF started as the Lewis Goldstein Memorial Fund in 1964, grew into the Fisheries Scholarship Fund during the 1980s and became the Seafood Industry Research Fund in 2012. 56 years and more than 50 funds later, this important research support mechanism is proud to welcome the Ed Morey Memorial Fund.
Please also find this video announcement of the fund and a video where Loren Morey describes his father’s early life and the events that lead to a seafood company in the middle of Minnesota.
SIRF September 2019 Meeting Recap
The SIRF Board met in September 2019 covering a full agenda for the seafood research organization. Items included planning for fundraising events, reporting on ongoing projects and discussion of project proposals. Watch the video for a recap of the meeting.
SIRF Director’s Testimonial
SIRF is guided by a board of industry leaders. This team guides SIRF’s mission forward by improving the seafood industry with innovative research. In this video, learn from SIRF directors what they value about the seafood research organization.
Crab Enhancement Research
Dr. Yoni Zohar with the University of Maryland Baltimore County and director of the Aquaculture Research Center at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology has co-authored a paper on Crab Enhancement. “Stock Enhancement: Strategic Approach for the Blue Swimmer Crab in SE Asia” profiles various approaches to bolstering crab populations through hatchery raised stocks and recommends best practices. Learn more about how this innovative practice can contribute to crab sustainability.
SIRF Enrolls in AmazonSmile Program
SIRF has registered with AmazonSmile to make donating to the seafood research nonprofit even easier. A version of the e-commerce platform, AmazonSmile makes available all of the offerings and prices as the original Amazon while dedicating a portion of every purchase to a charitable organization of the user’s choosing.
By selecting SIRF as a charity recipient, seafood advocates will secure, at no cost, 0.5% on all eligible purchases towards funding innovative, industry-improving projects.
“AmazonSmile is a convenient way to convert the online shopping experience into a supportive act,” said SIRF board member Derek Figueroa. “I have registered SIRF as my AmazonSmile charity and am glad to see my routine orders now contributing to an industry-bettering effort.”
Since launching in 2013, AmazonSmile has sent over $80 million to charities. To assist in SIRF’s fundraising, members of the seafood community are encouraged to visit smile.amazon.com and select SIRF as their designated organization or visit SIRF’s AmazonSmile page.
SIRF Chairman Russ Mentzer views AmazonSmile as a promising revenue source for the seafood study-sponsoring group.
“As an adaptive organization SIRF is always looking to diversify opportunities for giving,” said Mr. Mentzer. “AmazonSmile offers a quick and simple way to shop and support SIRF with no hassle or fee. I hope SIRF’s champions will take advantage of this program and give back to SIRF with their buying decisions.”
SIRF Newsletter 2018 (I)
SIRF’s first newsletter of the year is out! Read all about SIRF’s current activities which include a New SIRF Fundraising Video, SIRF Fundraising Events and studies on Crab Enhancement and Environmental Impact Research.
Link here.
SIRF Soirée a Success in Miami
January 24, 2018 -Miami, FL- Earlier this week, the Seafood Industry Research Fund hosted its annual benefit dinner, the SIRF Soirée. Occurring during the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference, the event took place at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami, FL. Seated beneath the museum’s overhead aquarium, over one-hundred industry professionals gathered for a seafood dinner to recognize SIRF’s work and fundraise for the newly established “Mike Gorton Living Tribute Fund.”
Chairman Russ Mentzer educated attendees on SIRF’s portfolio of scientific studies, detailing the business applications of on-going research in DNA species identification, decomposition testing, carbon-footprint analysis and nutrition.
“The seafood industry is a diverse marketplace,” said Mr. Mentzer. “SIRF’s variety of research is designed to keep pace with our business’ manifold issues. It takes a strong mixture of support to keep that mission moving forward.”
The evening’s keynote address profiled SIRF’s work to combat child labor and trafficking in Ghana. Delivered by SIRF-grantee Kristine Beran, a PhD Candidate and Research Associate at the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, the address outlined SIRF-sponsored activities to combat labor-issues in Ghana’s pelagic fishery.
“Community involvement is essential to eliminating trafficking in fisheries,” Ms. Beran said. “The collective effort of friends and family members towards education and prevention makes this social science effort an ideal area of focus for the communally-oriented SIRF.”
SIRF Establishes Mike Gorton Living Tribute Fund
The Seafood Industry Research Fund (SIRF) has announced the opening of the Mike Gorton Living Tribute Fund. The fund honors the Slade Gorton executive’s legacy, commemorating a range of contributions to the research non-profit from board member to fundraising organizer.
“Mike Gorton is a SIRF institution,” said SIRF Chairman Russ Mentzer. “Throughout his career, Mike’s influence has touched on every aspect of SIRF’s history, leaving an indelible imprint of service and leadership.”
A longtime member of the SIRF board until 2015, Mr. Gorton spearheaded fundraising for the group, an effort culminating in the annual benefit hockey game between teams NFI and Seafax. First played in 1993, the event brings seafood professionals onto the ice for a friendly contest. Now bearing Mr. Gorton’s name as the Gorton Cup, the game has raised over $1 million for seafood science studies. 2018 will mark the 25th anniversary of the hockey fundraiser and founder Mike Gorton’s last game.
“SIRF fulfills a critical business and scientific function,” said Mike Gorton. “Advancing seafood through practical research, SIRF continues to rally the industry around a worthy, common cause, one that has brought me great satisfaction in furthering. I am grateful for the privilege of continuing to bolster SIRF with this newly dedicated fund.”
Contributions to the Mike Gorton Living Tribute Fund can be made through SIRF’s website. This year’s Gorton Cup will take place during the Seafood Expo North America on March 12th, 2018 @ 7:30 PM at Harvard University’s Bright-Landry Hockey Center. SIRF supporters are encouraged to come and cheer on Mike Gorton and their favorite players for teams NFI and Seafax.
Q3 SIRF Newsletter
Check out the SIRF Q3 2017 Newsletter for stories on: SIRF Research Videos, Closed-Tube DNA Testing, SIRF Soiree Location Announced, Future Leader News, SIRF Board Meeting.
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