| WIRED ISLAND HELPS BOOST TURKS & CAICOS PRESENCE AT INTERNATIONAL BOSTON SEAFOOD SHOW |
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BOSTON, Massachusetts; Tuesday, February 26, 2008 – A contingent of local seafood exporters from the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are returning home today after attending the International Seafood Convention, the world’s largest commercial seafood industry event. Wired Island assisted the team in preparing for the show and devising key marketing strategies for promoting TCI’s native conch and lobster to thousands of potential buyers from around the world.
The group - lead by Minister of Natural Resources, the Hon. McAllister Hanchell and Hon. Samuel Been, Chairman of the Fisheries Advisory Committee, along with support from TCIvest, the TCI Tourist Board, Wired Island, four of the country's main seafood processing companies and a number of local fishermen represented TCI at the three-day convention, which attracts close to 20,000 attendees from 90 countries where the average attendee is responsible for more than US$3 million in seafood purchases annually.
Wired Island worked closely with the Turks and Caicos Department of Environment & Costal Resources (DECR) in securing booth space, producing marketing materials and facilitating the logistics so that the country would be well-represented and that representatives from the major seafood plants (Caicos Pride, LTC Fisheries/Lobsters, Provo Seafood, Quality Seafood and Shabay's Seafood) could meet potential clients, create new avenues for doing business, cement existing relationships and develop new marketing, distribution and sales opportunities.
Hon. McAllister Hanchell and Mike Sottak meet with a potential wholesaler
“We are proud and excited to be at this event representing Turks and Caicos and helping to expand the channel for our two most important exports: the Queen Conch and the Caribbean Spiny Lobster,” said Mike Sottak, president of Wired Island. “Conch has been an emerging delicacy in many parts of the world and so we see this as a great opportunity to ensure that TCI gets due recognition for the role it plays in this global business. Plus, this experience is good for the fisherman and plant operators as it gives them a wider perspective of their business and creates opportunities for expansion.”
Wired Island designed the tradeshow booth and developed the marketing materials used at the event in addition, the firm helped handle the logistical arrangements of attending the show and securing sponsorship for some of the attendees.
TCInvest, the government agency chartered with assisting locally owned businesses and entrepreneurs, is sponsoring the group's attendance to the event, thereby encouraging small business development in and around the country's fishing industry.
Seated L to R: Hon. McAllister Hanchell, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, and Hon. Samuel Been, Chairman of the Fisheries Advisories Committee.
Standing, L to R: Kathy Lockhart, Scientific Officer, Fishers Department; Mike Sottak, Wiredisland marketing; David "Cow" Clare, Fisherman (South Caicos); Henry Handfield, Shabay's Seafood (South Caicos); Leroy Brooks, Fisheries Department; Edwin Dickenson, Caicos Pride Products Ltd (South Caicos); Sonny Smith, Provo Seafood (Providenciales); Andrea Bassett, PA to Minister Hanchell; Jim Baker, Caicos Pride Products, Ltd (South Caicos); and Oscar Talbot, Quality Seafood (Grand Turk).
(Not in photo is Mary Mikridge, LTC Fisheries/Lobster Ltd.)
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