Pacific Seafood started in 1941 as a retail store on Powell Blvd. in Portland, OR. It was the vision of Frank Dulcich Sr. and his son Dominic to provide fresh, quality seafood to the market. Now it is the vision of the next generation led by President and CEO Frank Dulcich, the founder’s namesake and grandson, to bring continued growth and innovation to the company. In 2016, Pacific Seafood celebrated 75 years as a leading purveyor of fresh, quality seafood worldwide.
After establishing a strong customer base domestically, the company expanded internationally from 1977 to 1979. It was important to find new growth markets due to the abundance of seafood resources available and it was also important to bring new resources to existing domestic markets. By expanding the sales opportunity internationally, with export and import capabilities, Pacific Seafood established itself in the global market.
As with any successful business, continued growth brought new opportunities. In 1983, the company purchased its first processing facility in Warrenton, OR. This was an important step in managing the supply chain, as it gave the company the opportunity to better control product quality while providing more processed seafood to market.
In 1984 Frank Dulcich introduced the Diamond Philosophy to team members. The philosophy, “Consistently doing your best and always striving to do better,” supports a culture of continuous improvement. Still in place today, all team members are guided by this philosophy which supports how business is conducted at Pacific Seafood.
Pacific Seafood purchased its first vessel, the Pacific Conquest, in 1986. This 58 ft. fiberglass fishing vessel was important in harvesting shrimp, crab, and bottomfish. Our fishermen, and the ability to harvest wild-caught seafood in a sustainable manner, are critical to our legacy in the seafood industry. The future of our fisheries is the future of our business.
As demand for west coast seafood items continued to grow, Pacific Seafood established itself in northern California and formed Pacific Choice Seafoods. This growth also gave Pacific Seafood access to fishing grounds in California and southern Oregon that supplied sablefish and channel rockfish. Working with our Asian customers, Pacific Seafood developed a special cut for our export species, creating an export market that remains strong today and benefits the entire industry.
The demand for wild caught seafood remains strong and perhaps no region of the country has broader consumer appeal than Alaska. Pacific Seafood purchased its first Alaska processing facility in 1988 in Nikiski, Alaska. The opportunity to have a facility in Alaska has been important for access to resources and for further processing capabilities.
In 1993, Pacific Seafood entered the aquaculture business with the purchase of Pacific Oyster in Bay City. Coast Seafoods Co. followed in 2011 and Pacific Seafood is now one of the leading farming operations in oysters, clams, and mussels. The company, in partnership with the seafood industry, is a strong proponent of sustainable resource management, utilizing farm-raised resources to augment wild-caught seafood.
Pacific Seafood purchased Pacific Fish in Seattle in 1995, this merged with Pacific Pride Seafood to become Pacific Seafood of Washington. This acquisition immediately made Pacific Seafood of Washington a significant seafood distributor in the state and a major player with retail and foodservice customers in the area. In 2012 Pacific Seafood of Washington became the first Pacific Seafood distribution center with a standalone meat cutting facility, providing other strategic proteins to our expanding seafood customer base.
Pacific Seafood bought the land in Clackamas in 1998 and construction was completed in 2002. The Clackamas location is a consolidation of a distribution center, corporate office, and Pacific Group Transport, all in one location, thus reducing overhead. Since opening the doors in 2002, the Clackamas distribution center has doubled its business two times over and continues to grow. With the purchase of the Jennifer Street building in 2014, Pacific Seafood Clackamas has expanded to a 20 acre campus with over 300 team members during peak season.
Pacific Seafood purchased the Pacific Aquaculture Steelhead Farm, located on the Columbia River in Nespelem, WA on the Colville Nation, in 2008. In 2013 this facility was awarded Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification by the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA). This was the first salmon/steelhead farm to be BAP certified in the U.S. Many members of the Native American Colville tribe of the Pacific Northwest are employed by the farm. Pacific Seafood and the Colville Nation have developed a strong relationship and together they produce quality steelhead for the consumer.
Pacific Seafood launched its 75th Anniversary celebration in March of 2016 at the International Boston Seafood Expo. This year of celebration and recognition lasted through the Corporate Anniversary event held at the Portland Art Museum in October. Pacific Seafood, now leading the seafood industry in quality, sustainability, and traceability, continues its legacy of excellence that has been established over the last three-quarters of a century.
Four-star is the highest designation in the BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices) third-party certification program. For “fed” species, it signifies that a product originated from a BAP-certified processing plant, was sourced from a BAP-certified farm, and has utilized seed and feed from BAP-certified hatcheries. BAP’s mollusk farm standards contain many specifications for responsible stocking rates and monitoring of natural feeding processes, BAP has certified Pacific Seafood to offer four-star BAP oysters as opposed to just three-star BAP oysters.
Pacific Seafood’s BAP-certified oyster processing plant and farm are located in South Bend, Washington, while the state-of-the-art BAP-certified oyster hatchery is located in Quilcene, Washington. At our hatchery, advanced technology, experienced technicians, and a superb natural environment have combined to make it one of the world’s largest shellfish hatcheries capable of producing over 50 billion oyster larvae (diploid and triploid) per year.
Pacific Seafood Warrenton re-opened five years after a devastating fire destroyed our plant. Our new facility and dock will support hundreds of team members and their families. We will also provide a market for up to 70 independent commercial fishing vessels to deliver their catch and grown their business while improving our market access.