D2D™ Fish School Event to Focus On 'Consumer Reports' Magazine's Frightening Finding that Imported Shrimp Poses a Bacterial Health Threat to Consumers

The growing health threat posed to unsuspecting American consumers by 90% of the shrimp they are consuming will be addressed head-on at D2D’s second Fish School event taking place on July 23, 2015 from 6:00PM until 7:30PM at 3101 North Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, FL, adjacent to the IBIS Bay Beach Resort and The Stoned Crab restaurant.

“This Consumer Reports magazine study places a microscope on the disturbing reality of imported shrimp which, unfortunately, is what the vast majority of Americans eat,” said D2D co-founder Tony Osborn. “Through the D2D program and, specifically, our upcoming Fish School event, we aim to both educate our Key West community on the dangers of consuming farmed, imported shrimp and offer a far safer, healthier, and local alternative in Key West Pink Shrimp.”

According to the Consumer Reports article, Americans eat, on average, 4lbs of shrimp per year. However, despite this internal demand for shrimp, 94% of shrimp consumed in the States is imported from poorly regulated and unsanitary international fish farms. As a result, when this imported, farmed shrimp arrives at American ports, it’s often coated with both dangerous bacteria and antibiotics. However, while it’s illegal to import bacteria and antibiotic-infested shrimp, the FDA has the capacity to test only .7% of this shrimp and, as a result, the majority of it enters the American seafood supply chain.

Specifically, the referenced study tested 342 samples of frozen shrimp – 284 raw samples and 58 cooked samples – purchased at large chain supermarkets, big-box stores, and “natural” food stores in 27 cities across the country. The study discovered that 16% of the cooked shrimp and 60% of the raw shrimp contained harmful bacteria such as vibrio, staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, listeria, or salmonella. Even more alarming is that 11 samples contained illegal antibiotics, used by foreign fish farmers to preserve their stock. According to the Consumer Reports article, Americans eat, on average, 4lbs of shrimp per year. However, despite this internal demand for shrimp, 94% of shrimp consumed in the States is imported from poorly regulated and unsanitary international fish farms. As a result, when this imported, farmed shrimp arrives at American ports, it’s often coated with both dangerous bacteria and antibiotics. However, while it’s illegal to import bacteria and antibiotic-infested shrimp, the FDA has the capacity to test only .7% of this shrimp and, as a result, the majority of it enters the American seafood supply chain.

“While the dangers of imported, farmed shrimp is clearly an American problem, it is not one without a solution,” offered Bill Kelly, Executive Director of The Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association. “Our local waters are abundant with the freshest and most delicious shrimp in the world – Key West Pink Shrimp. However, our community needs to understand that not all shrimp are created equally and that when you buy local, fresh shrimp, you are assured they are healthy. It’s as simple as that.” 

The July 23rd D2D Fish School event, and the D2D program in general, aims to turn the tide of the American seafood industry in favor of local shrimp and away from mostly unregulated farmed and imported shrimp. “The upcoming Fish School event will be forward-thinking. We will certainly discuss the frightening findings of the recent Consumer Reports study, but we will also discuss what can be done to force the FDA to address this issue legally. As Key Westers, we have a perfect solution: buy local, fresh, and delicious Key West Pink Shrimp that just came off a local shrimp boat,” said D2D co-founder Paul Menta. “What’s more, local restaurant member chefs will be conducting whole shrimp cooking demonstrations that night and attendees can sample the safest and healthiest shrimp in the country, all while enjoying beer, wine, and a Key West sunset. It’s an ideal way to spend an evening.”

For more information, visit keywest.docktodish.com, facebook.com/docktodishkeywest, and twitter.com/d2dfish.

Florida's First Community Supported Fishery and Seafood Market Takes Center Stage at the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival

Florida is taking center stage in a new documentary that premiered at the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival. A documentary series focused on the "Idea Economy" features Dock to Dish Key West (D2D™), Florida's first Community Supported Fishery (CSF) and Community Seafood Market (CSM), as one of three forward-looking enterprises singled out by multi award-winning documentary filmmaker Alison Klayman for the contributions the company is making to seafood sustainability, consumer health, and the livelihoods of Florida's commercial fishermen.

“We are extremely proud to have been selected by Klayman for the ‘Idea Economy’ documentary series,” D2D co-founder Tony Osborn said today. “Our inclusion proves that, together with our commercial fishermen, we do have the power to ‘rock the boat’ in the seafood industry. It’s exciting that a small company from a small town has the power to make a difference. This documentary provides our cause, mission and method with invaluable exposure on a national scale.”

HP Matter partnered with Klayman to develop a film series, “The Idea Economy”, that highlights the technology behind some of today's businesses that are disrupting and challenging the status quo in their respective industries. Each documentary explores the vision, passion and technological infrastructure of these companies that cultivates a need to change the world. In addition to D2D, the two other companies featured in the film series – which premiered on June 29th at the Aspen Ideas Festival – include Vimeo and One Kings Lane.

The Aspen Ideas Festival is the nation's premier, public gathering place for leaders from around the globe to discuss issues that shape our lives and challenge our times.

The documentary explores how D2D is disrupting the traditional fishing industry’s status quo and developing a sustainable system enabled by instant communication. Delivering fresh fish daily, according to the documentary, requires precise tracking of inventory and a communication platform for fisherman and customers. D2D’s model relies on the instantaneous sharing of information between fisherman and seafood market, seafood market and restaurant, and seafood market and consumer. “Each day, individual members and restaurants receive texts and emails alerting them on the catch of the day for purchase,” Paul Menta said. “D2D’s model begins and ends with mobile communication- and it’s working.” Mr. Menta participated alongside the film’s director Alison Klayman and Hewlett Packard’s CIO Ramon Baez in a discussion panel with an invitation-only audience of 700 attendees.

In the six short months since its founding in February of 2015, over 200 individual and restaurant members have signed up to purchase seafood from the market. “We’re so excited to share locally caught, sustainable American seafood with our customers because it’s the safest and healthiest catch in the world,” co-founder Chris Holland emphasized. “By utilizing communication methods, we’re raising the quality of seafood sold in Florida. We’re also improving the livelihood of local fisherman, who are now provided with both consistent work and a higher per price per pound compared to the fishing conglomerates exporting our delicious Florida fish overseas.”

While D2D has experienced immense success in Florida, the documentary brings the state’s first community supported fishery and seafood market to national attention — a goal that Holland strives for. “I want sustainable seafood or, as we call it – sea-stainability – to be at the forefront of everyone’s minds,” he said. “This documentary elevates our mission beyond what we’ve established in Florida.”

APG Displays Showcases a Spectacular Array of Videowall Solutions at InfoComm 2015

Underscoring its commitment to providing AV professionals with the most innovative solutions available, APG Displays, North America’s leading distributor of videowalls, is showcasing several new displays side-by-side at InfoComm 2015 in Booth #3569 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

“APG Displays is committed to providing AV industry professionals with the most stunning and effective videowall solutions on the market,” APG Displays President David Weatherhead said. “To give attendees an immersive experience, our booth is the only place at InfoComm where they can directly compare the latest small pixel-pitch direct view LED, LCD, and LPD videowalls and ultra-large LCD displays.”

APG Displays is prominently featuring Leyard’s 12-foot wide full HD LED videowall with a high pixel-pitch resolution of 1.9mm. “Leyard’s 1.9mm videowall is designed with a stunning resolution to maximize audience engagement,” Weatherhead said. “Now, all InfoComm attendees will be able to see this videowall’s power first-hand.”

APG Displays is also showcasing a 16-foot wide Prysm 190-inch LPD Cascade Touchscreen Videowall that demonstrates the latest collaboration technology, Orion’s new 98-inch LCD screen with 4k UHD resolution, and NEC’s 55-inch LCD videowall range demonstrating 4k loop-though playback. The booth is also displaying Green Hippo’s AViary range of video players and processors featuring the Par4keet 4k media player. 

“We strive to provide an interactive, in-person experience for anyone interested in renting or purchasing a videowall,” Weatherhead said. “After InfoComm, all displays will be available for viewing at the APG Displays’ Assessment Centers in Orlando and Toronto.”

This past year, APG Displays has experienced record-breaking growth. They recently opened a large office in Orlando, Florida, dramatically increasing the size of their videowall rental fleet.  They also signed a North American distribution agreement with Green Hippo for their new AViary Video Processor Range.

To see the latest videowall technologies, visit APG Displays at InfoComm 2015 at Booth #3569.

Dock to Dish Set to Host Monthly "Fish School" Events to Educate Key West Community About the New Age of Healthy, American, Sustainable Seafood

Underscoring its commitment to help the community learn about the many lesser-known, more affordable, but still great tasting fish species that are plentiful in the waters throughout the Florida Keys, Dock to Dish Key West, in conjunction with the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association today announced plans to host a series of sunset “Fish School” events that combine education with fish-tasting, refreshments, and community socializing. 

Dock to Dish Co-Founder and Commercial Fisherman Tony Osborn

The first beachfront Fish School event will take place next Thursday, May 21st from 7:00PM until 9:00PM at the Dock to Dish Community Seafood Market (CSM) located at 3101 North Roosevelt Boulevard.  Dock to Dish members and their guests are welcome to attend, according to Dock to Dish Key West Co-Founder Tony Osborn.  “Our local waters have an abundance of healthy, great tasting fish and seafood that are not very well known, if at all,” Osborn said today.  “Because these species lack consumer demand, they’re often far less expensive than those that are highly popular. These events will show our community that by purchasing certain species, you can still enjoy entirely fresh, local, and delicious seafood without spending a lot.”

However, as Osborn and his Dock to Dish team emphasize, promoting lesser-known species does more than make seafood more affordable; it also eases the burden on the more in-demand and thus overfished species. “The current seafood industry in the America is demand-driven and when consumers are only aware of a few species, these species are subject to overfishing,” Osborn said. “By educating our community at Fish School events on our water’s wide variety of species, we allow our fish populations to regenerate while making fresh, local seafood more affordable for our community. It’s this positive impact on both our community and the Key West ecosystem that’s at the core of the Dock to Dish mission.”

Dock to Dish Commercial Fishermen representing the 1st Hand

In addition to promoting lesser-known species, the monthly Fish School events will also introduce the community to what Dock to Dish has dubbed their “Three Hands Fish” philosophy – a business model that guarantees their fish fresh while supporting the local Florida Keys commercial fishermen. 

According to Osborn, the ‘first hand’ is the hand of the Dock to Dish commercial fisherman who actually caught the fish.  The ‘second hand’ is the Community Seafood Market that cleans and prepares the fish, and the ‘third hand’ is the community and restaurant members who cook and consume the fish.  Unlike traditional markets and grocery stores, whose supply chain can include at least 12 separate links, the Dock to Dish seafood supply chain is made up of only the ‘three hands’ in the Three Hand Fish philosophy.  “Our very short and transparent harvesting and handling process ensures that your local seafood is always fresh, never frozen; always delicious and nutritious,” Osborn emphasized.

Dock to Dish CSM Fish Cutters Wes (left) and Ryan (right) representing the 2nd Hand

The inaugural Dock to Dish Fish School event will feature three interactive stations manned by Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen Association members, Community Seafood Market fish cutters, and Dock to Dish Restaurant Member chefs.  The first station will feature Dock to Dish fishermen who will teach members and their guests about a lesser known, in-season local fish species; the second station will feature Dock to Dish Community Seafood Market cutters teaching members how to fillet, de-bone, scale, and skin the same in-season local species; the third station will feature a Dock to Dish restaurant chef preparing and cooking that very same fish.

“In just a few months time, we’ve established strong relationships with nine of Key West’s most prominent restaurants, supplying them with Dock to Dish fish on a daily basis,” said Paul Menta, local chef and Co-Founder of Dock to Dish. “Involving the growing number of restaurants who support Dock to Dish in these events provides our members with the opportunity to learn fresh fish cooking tips from our community’s top chefs – it’s an experience that cannot be replicated elsewhere.”

Dock to Dish Co-Founder & Restaurant Chef Paul Menta representing the 3rd Hand

“The Dock to Dish Fish School is another great step forward in our association’s efforts to forge a meaningful relationship between commercial fishermen and the consumers who benefit the most from their catch,” emphasized FKCFA Executive Director Bill Kelly. “The growing success of the Dock to Dish Key West Community Seafood Market is helping to improve the livelihoods of our members while raising the general consumer population’s appreciation for what commercial fishermen contribute to our economy and our way of life.”

For more information on Dock to Dish Fish School events, emaildocktodishkeywest@gmail.com or call (305) 296-0274. 

Keys Commercial Fishermen to Celebrate Opening of Florida's First Community Seafood Market (CSM) on February 14 in Key West

Dock to Dish Key West®, Florida’s first Community Supported Fishery (CSF), today announced that it will open Florida’s first Community Seafood Market (CSM) on Saturday, February 14, 2015 —Valentine’s Day— in Key West.

“Get to know your fishermen. They are America’s most endangered species,” said Dock to Dish Key West co-founder Chris Holland, who hailed the upcoming Seafood Market opening as the start of the next chapter in the sustainable seafood revolution.  “By combining mobile app convenience with traditional CSF quality standards, we are taking the next logical step in the evolution of the CSF model with the opening of the first CSM (Community Seafood Market). The new mobile technology behind this market, which will be available in June, is a powerful weapon in the fight to reclaim America’s oceans for the community. Our new mobile market app will put our fishermen and our community in direct contact with each other. This market will help reinstate the Florida Keys as the country’s highest quality seafood provider and rebuild the livelihoods of local-area commercial fishermen.”

According to co-founder and commercial fisherman Tony Osborn, the difficult mission was to adhere to the strict CSF guidelines established by Dock to Dish Montauk while finding new ways to make the healthiest, freshest seafood available to more community members in record time. The new fishermen-owned Dock to Dish Seafood Market is the first brick and mortar CSM market to offer nothing but local fish and seafood harvested by local area commercial fishermen. The market will also serve as the pick up point for the Dock to Dish Community Supported Fishery, scheduled to begin in June.

“This first-of-its-kind CSM Seafood Market will benefit both commercial fishermen and the community by reconnecting them directly with one another,” Osborn emphasized."In our CSM business model, there's just the Dock to Dish fishermen who caught the fish, the fishermen-owned market where the fish is cleaned and fileted, and the members who enjoy the fish. Fishermen can now meet their customers and customers can get to know their fishermen. Locally caught, sustainable American seafood is the safest and healthiest catch in the world. Making this direct connection will permanently raise the quality of seafood sold in Florida, improve the health of our community and improve the livelihoods of our local fishermen, who are vital to our economy.”

Holland added, “Dock to Dish is the antidote to the anonymous, and often unregulated seafood that is flooding our restaurant menus, warehouse clubs, and supermarkets from Asia and South America. 86% of the seafood America currently eats is imported*. Knowing your fishermen is the secret to better quality, better health and a better local economy.”

According to commercial fisherman and market manager Jason Wells, “Individual members and local area restaurant members will be able to see our boats come to the dock, watch our cutters prepare the fish through large windows, and make their purchase right on the spot. You can’t get fresher or more transparent than that! Many tourists come to watch it too.”

Co-founder and chef Paul Menta added, “Time is the enemy of all fresh produce, especially just-caught seafood. What makes this Seafood Market such a game changer is that we will be using mobile app technology, available in June, to communicate with our CSM and CSF members. Every Dock to Dish membership will include a mobile app that will inform members what each boat’s catch of the day is. With very few keystrokes, they can then tell us what seafood they want and how much they want. No phone calls, no emails. All they have to do is come in to our waterfront market and pick up the freshest fish they have ever had. The whole “conversation” is completed within the app. It’s very fast and that means very fresh.” 

Commenting on the impact the new Seafood Market will have on local commercial fishermen, Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association (FKCFA) Executive Director Bill Kelly noted, “The ancient art of commercial fishing is now being updated for the 21st Century and we couldn’t be more thrilled.  Chris and his team of commercial fishermen are using all of their resources plus the latest technology to reinvent the way fishermen connect with the community.”  All fishermen who supply to the Dock to Dish Community Supported Fishery and the Dock to dish Community Seafood Market must adhere to Dock to Dish’s fish-on-board policies.

Located at 3101 North Roosevelt Boulevard (on the dock adjacent to the Stoned Crab restaurant), the new Dock to Dish Seafood Market will be open seven days a week from 11:00AM until 9:00PM.  For up to date information, supporters and members can visit www.docktodish.com, call (305) 296-0274or email to fresh@docktodish.com.

Consumers must become market members. The one time membership fee is $35.  Members will receive a Dock to Dish Members Kit. The kit includes items they will need to keep their fish fresh on the way home: an insulated, reusable carry bag; one LCD thermometer; one reusable ice pack; insulated zippered pouches; the Dock to Dish Mobile App (with alerts) (in June) plus their membership card; a Dock to Dish Key West T-Shirt and a copy of Dock to Dish Chef Paul Menta’s book “Native Fuel” full of insights, recipes and local Keys food history. Paul Menta calls it, "not just a cookbook, but a food adventure.”

About Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association:

Founded in 1992, the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association (FKCFA) is a professional organization representing stakeholders engaged in the commercial harvest of spiny lobster, stone crab and finfish in Monroe County, Florida.  Monroe County, including all of the Florida Keys and a small portion of southwestern Florida’s mainland, comprises the largest commercial seaport in the state and the second largest in the southeastern United States.  The industry is one of the most heavily regulated in the nation, governed by both state and federal agencies and a multitude of rules and regulations.  Thus, the primary work of the association is addressing fisheries management issues on state and federal levels.

FKCFA is widely known for their environmental work through cooperative research programs including gear modifications and testing, development of coral protection zones, internships for undergraduate and post-graduate students and their own scholarship program for Monroe County students.  The association prides itself on education and awareness of the socio-economic side of the industry and importance to the Florida Keys as the second largest economic engine in the islands, next to tourism, and the second largest employer.  Commercial fishing in the Florida Keys is generational in nature and dates back almost 200 years in the annals of Keys’ history.