Prohibited Species Donation Program Feeds with Pride

Written By: Terry Shaff, SeaShare Board Member

The Prohibited Species Donation program is SeaShare’s signature program. It is unique in fisheries management and in the seafood industry for its innovative approach to resource protection and utilization. It allows fishermen and seafood companies to voluntarily reduce discard waste in a way that provides tremendous public benefit to Americans in need throughout the United States.

As SeaShare’s first seafood industry partner, UniSea was at the forefront of the development of this program and has been an ardent supporter and active participant throughout its 15 year history. A long-time UniSea employee, Pete Maloney, was working on the Advisory Panel [to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council] when the program was first introduced. He became a strong advocate for the program and was instrumental in helping the program gain the broad industry and government support that it continues to have today.

Though UniSea owners and management have promoted this program within the company for many years, what is not commonly known is that the strongest advocates in the UniSea family are the processing employees themselves. Their participation is a great source of pride for the employee team and something they share avidly with their friends and family.

Our employees know about our participation in SeaShare and the wonderful results that are generated. We talk about it in employee meetings and publish information about it in our company newsletter. But again, the strongest advocates are those processing employees who are packing this product and know where it is going. We use these employees to talk to others about the program and the strong sense of job satisfaction that comes from knowing that what you are working on is actually helping others. This fosters an understanding among all employees that they are working for a company that has a corporate purpose other than “just making a profit for the owners”.

Employees take pride in working for a successful company that does well and meets their business goals, but they also take just as much pride in working for a company that is compassionate, not only to their own employees but to the population as a whole. In our industry, one of the best ways to convey that compassion is through participation in the SeaShare program.

Right now, the need in food banks across the country is at an all-time high. Many families who never thought they would need help are finding themselves in the position of relying on food banks to “get by”. Many of the companies in our industry are spending the time and money to be active participants in the SeaShare program. But for all of us involved, we still cannot call it a success until every pound of usable qualifying product ends up in a box in the food bank network. We need to let those companies who are not fully participating know that it is the right thing to do. It lets their employees know their company cares. Trust me and all UniSea employees……..participating in SeaShare makes you feel REALLY good.