They Got The Seafood Mama

     Today we're heading straight into that busy intersection where logistics, air cargo, and yes, seafood all collide in the best possible way.
     With nearly everybody casting a wary eye at the uproar in the Middle East, the best bet for March for our money is in Boston now where a great commercial trade show for securing high yield perishable cargo consignments is taking place.
     It’s called Seafood Expo North America and Seafood Processing North America, running for the 44th time in modern history, hosted at the Thomas Menino Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
     And when people say big, they don't mean a few aisles and some banner stands.
     The latest addition takes up 249,665 net square feet.
     That's the kind of footprint where your legs hurt after the first hour and you still haven't made it to the far corner.
     This year's event list shows 1,215 exhibiting companies from 51 countries.
     It's a global floor with names and flags you expect, and a few you might not.
     This week participation is from places like Croatia, Ireland, Maldives, Puerto Rico, Iceland and Korea among others.
     And then you've got an even bigger presence from markets that always draw attention in seafood—China, Ecuador, France, Japan, and Norway.
     It's a serious cross-section.
     And if you work air cargo, you're not wandering around hoping to bump into someone.
     You can go straight to the operators.

     Here at Stand 469 are some good looking logisticians from United Cargo including from left, John Curran, Cargo Account Executive Chicago; Ada Caso, Cargo Key Account Manager, Los Angeles and Rafael Ribeiro, Sr. Inside Cargo Sales Representative, Brazil.
     John Curran said, “We’ve had a wonderful first day, busy and steady, really great conversations with good customers. United Cargo is a leading carrier, moving seafood worldwide. We’ve got a large network. Domestically coast to coast, we offer widebody space. Right now, we are seeing a big increase in requests from all over the world.”
      Shippers, packaging folks, cold chain solutions, equipment providers,
trucking, containers, processing tech, every specialty where seafood meets logistics, meets compliance, meets timing are at hand and these airline cargo types are loving it!
     Good timing as we all know is the entire game with fresh product.
     Fresh anything is getting more and more attention.
     And air cargo keeps finding itself right in the middle of it, supporting an industry that's not just growing, but organizing itself around large, high-impact events.

     In Booth 1875, Andy Kirschner, Delta Cargo Director of Americas Sales headed up the energetic team in Boston this week.
     The obvious value of Delta Cargo here is to meet up with customers, continuing strong relationships, whilst furthering the news of what Delta Cargo and its team, reporting to Senior Vice President and President of Delta Cargo Peter Penseel, is leading with energy and innovation.
     Word up is that with the  summer schedules kicking in shortly, Delta will advance its largest offering in history  from an international standpoint. As example, we learned, across their Atlantic sector alone, over 100 flights will operate  daily. The Delta folks at Boston Seafood were really excited about their increased network capacity worldwide.
     Joining Andy at the show, the Delta Cargo team above left to right are Michael Hatfield, General Manager Cargo Sales; Megan Grill, Sr, Coordinator Cargo Sales and Daniel Scott, Account Executive Cargo Sales.
    The company behind this whole set of shows is Diversified Communications, an events-based business headquartered in Maine.
     Third-generation family-owned, and at this point, it's a serious global player.
     In 2026, Diversified runs 17 brands, puts on 23 events, and operates 12 media websites.
     That's a full ecosystem, not just a single expo. And the origin story goes back a ways.
     The company was founded in 1949 by Horace Hildreth Sr., former Governor of Maine, and also a U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan.
     That's not your typical, we-started-in-a-garage story.
     Not at all.
     Today, Diversified fields more than 500 employees, with seven offices spread across five countries including U.S., Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and the U.K.
If you want to look them up, it's www.divcom.com. 
     Discover that in 2026, Boston isn't the only stop for this company’s adventures.
     A similar Seafood Global and Seafood Processing event also hits Barcelona, April 21-23.
     Then later in the year, the scene shifts to Singapore for Seafood Asia and Seafood Processing Asia, September 2-4, 2026.
     Moving onto Booth 1985 we meet Fernando Dragonné, Cathay Cargo's Area Cargo Manager, Western USA based in Los Angeles. Fernando with Cathay Cargo for 12 years is jubilant  “We have 18 different destinations in the U.S. and Canada and Mexico from Hong Kong. We also deliver further east through Hong Kong. Cathay Cargo is at this show to talk to customers and potential customers, who we invite to discover perishables shipping with Cathay Cargo, which is certified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) CEIV Fresh program.
     “Our Cathay Fresh product offers expert handling by professionals who understand the cold chain.
     “We want shippers to know that Cathay has made huge investments into our extensive cold chain infrastructure. With our next-generation Ultra Track track-and-trace technology, customers can be sure that the vegetables, fruits and other temperature-sensitive produce are delivered in impeccable condition. That is the message we want to share at this show.” 
    So it's a circuit, and for carriers, that makes it even more interesting because these shows are where you don't just talk about capacity.
     You meet the shippers who need it, next week, and the week after that.
     Let's talk Alaska Air Cargo for a second, because they've got a clear reason for its team to be situate in Boston at Booth 1064.
     They want people to know about expanded non-stop cargo services five days a week from Seattle to both Tokyo and Seoul in 2026 that ties into the bigger Alaska and Hawaiian Air Cargo network as it's being described.
     Alaska/Hawaiian Air now serve 14 locations across Asia, the South Pacific, Canada, and Mexico, working through global gateways in Honolulu and Seattle.
     There's also new long-haul service out of Seattle coming online.
     Nonstop to Rome, starting April 28th, and to London beginning May 21st.
And the message is pretty clear. More routes are coming as the Alaska /Hawaiian Air combine gets going.
     We met Shannon Stevens, Strategic Account Manager, based in Anchorage, and Ben Napolitano, Regional Sales Manager, based in Seattle. You can tell by looking at the faces of these two from Alaska/Hawaiian that they are thrilled to be in Boston to present the carrier’s story. It's as easy as swimming downstream.
     Shannon, who has been with Alaska Air for 30 years is an absolute professional of the form.
     One look at Shannon’s kind face tells the story and it is no surprise, as she expresses concern and customer caring every day.
     “We serve parts of our state that features very few roads,” Shannon said.
     “People in these outlying stations, especially in winter rely on air cargo for the basics of life, including their groceries, and medical supplies, and you name it, even building supplies.
     “Of course it’s no secret that Alaska Air Cargo delivers a lot of fish across our network.
     “It’s just now with the integration of Hawaiian Air and the addition of new international destinations, our smiling faces are going to more places,” Shannon said.
     “The kinds of fish we move of course depend on the season. We move halibut, cod and crab. Soon we will be in Salmon Season during the summer.
     “If it swims, it also flies first class by Alaska Cargo as vast tonnages of seafood move in Alaska on all our aircraft including  B737- 800 and B737 700 freighters.
     “I can put 34,000 pounds on the 700 about 46,000 pounds on the 800,” Shannon Stevens proudly exclaimed.
     No doubt, the airlines that show up to this Expo aren't doing it for the lanyards.
     The airlines here we talked to made it clear that they are aligning their networks with where perishables demand is strongest, and where the relationships actually get built.
     “The Boston Show, especially, is packed wall-to-wall with decision-makers, was our overall impression.
     “From every corner manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, shipping experts, container manufacturers, everyone that you need for a real cold chain conversation is at hand.”
     Seafood Expo also features a bonus value that people don't always say out loud, but everybody knows it's true.
     “The food, the sampling, is just tremendous!”
     “You can talk reefer strategy with somebody from Scotland, then turn around and meet someone moving volume out of the cone of Chili. and in between you're trying not to spill whatever you're holding while you listen to a pitch.
     “It's a scene. It's also the kind of a place where you think you're just grabbing a quick bite and suddenly you've had six conversations and 10 business cards.”
     And let's be real, it can turn into a full-on endurance test, as we noted.
     “You got a big drink in one hand, shrimp on a skewer in the other,
something for your stomach within reach, and then it's right back to the airline schedule and the real world.”
     Diversified has been pretty consistent in how they describe what the Expo means to the industry.
     The idea is that the seafood community sees this as a progressive, comprehensive place to swap knowledge and build networks.
     This is not just a show with history, but a direct and effective marketing tool, basically the shortest path between suppliers and the seafood business community.

     Now, one of the most anticipated features of the expo is the new product conference.
     If you're a buyer, this is where you go to see what's new, what's different and what might actually sell.
     It's not just a parade of products. It's value-added items, emerging species, packaging innovations, and services screened by a panel of industry buyers.
     They look at what's unique and what fits the market.
     And out of that process, you get finalists and winners for the Annual Seafood Excellence Awards (SEA) presented across multiple categories.
     That's the forward-looking part of the show.
     But there's also a tradition that hits at the end of the expo that says a lot about the community.
     When the show wraps, hundreds of exhibitors donate leftover product.
     More than 20,000 pounds of fresh seafood are distributed through the Greater Boston Food Bank.
     That turns into thousands of meals for people in need across eastern Massachusetts.
     That's not a small gesture.
     That's real impact, and it's built in as part of the event's rhythm.
     If you're tracking the organizational side of the show, the National Fisheries Institute out of Virginia serves as the official sponsor for the Boston Seafood Expo.
     Plus, you've got a few must-see moments, too.
     Like the oyster shucking contest.
     And listen, you don't have to just watch.
     Don't be shy about stepping in, helping out, and, you know, eating the learning experiences.
     Hooray for the trade show experience.
      Sniff the air . . .
     This place just smells wonderful!
Flossie Arend, GDA
Photo credit Anthony Atamanuik