Soon after awarding USD 17 million (EUR 15 million) in contracts for Pacific rockfish and whiting, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is asking for bids on more of the same fish.
The agency is asking for bids on 29,700 cases of frozen Pacific whiting and rockfish. Suppliers must submit bids by 1 p.m. Central Standard Time on 19 September; deliveries on the products will be made between November 2024 and March 2025.
The USDA planned to originally buy USD 22 million (EUR 20 million) worth of Pacific rockfish and whiting as part of its most recent solicitation, but the agency said in its award notice it could not award 9,000 cases of Pacific rockfish “due to price consideration.” Additionally, the USDA said it could not award 17,100 cases of rockfish fillets and 3,600 cases of whiting fillets due to “vendor capacity.”
Despite the USD 5 million (EUR 4.5 million) reduction, West Coast Seafood Processors Association Executive Director Lori Steele told SeafoodSource at the time she was “thrilled to see USD 17 million was awarded.”
Steele praised the news of renewed USDA calls for Pacific rockfish and whiting bids.
“There are many factors that play into the USDA bidding process for our processors, not the least of which are timing and ongoing supply chain challenges we face. We are extremely grateful to the USDA for publishing another solicitation to purchase the remaining product from last month’s solicitation,” Steele said. “We look forward to filling these orders, as this continues to be a fantastic opportunity for us to work with the USDA to distribute West Coast seafood products to food assistance programs throughout the country. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.”
Clackamas, Oregon, U.S.A.-based Dulcich, which owns Pacific Seafood, snagged the largest portion of the first round of contracts – USD 9.3 million (EUR 8.4 million) for Pacific whiting.
Westport, Washington, U.S.A.-based Ocean Gold Seafoods committed to supplying both whiting and rockfish in a contract worth nearly USD 5.1 million (EUR 4.6 million), and Bornstein Seafoods was awarded a contract to supply USD 2.9 million (EUR 2.6 million) worth of rockfish.
The USDA purchases have also been celebrated by legislators in the U.S. state of Oregon, who have lamented that fishers, processors, and more have struggled to control volatile market factors.
“We greatly appreciate the efforts that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made to support our [seafood] industry in recent years. These continue to be extremely challenging times, and we cannot overstate the significance of the USDA’s actions to expand procurement programs to include greater quantities of domestically produced seafood,” U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), along with U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Oregon), U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle (D-Oregon), and U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-Oregon), wrote.
