Red's Best "Fresh Catch" Program

Red's Best was founded in 2008 by Jared Auerbach, a young fisherman from Boston who worked on commercial vessels in Alaska and Cape Cod, MA. Based on his experiences working in the fishing industry, Jared established Red's Best to support New England day boat fishermen in finding markets for their catch – their whole catch, not just the most popular species.

Red's Best works with approximately 1,000 fishermen, unloading their daily catch, preparing the fish for sale (including cleaning, filleting and packaging), and finding buyers. By eliminating the traditional wholesale auction of one's fish and multiple middle-men, Red's Best ensures that the fishermen receive more of the profit for the fish they catch, even for underutilized species.

Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) partnered with Red's Best beginning in the spring of 2015 to create the "Fresh Catch" program, in which HUDS has a standing commitment to buy a significant volume of fish (approximately 1,500 pounds per week), and Red's established a set price per pound for that fish without market fluctuations.

Furthermore, the program features underutilized species or by-catch, thus making local seafood consumption sustainable by:

• utilizing the full catch,
• introducing new varieties of fish – all selected for their ease of cooking and familiar flavor profile, if not name  – to consumers (species used have included hake, haddock, pollock, skate, monkfish and dogfish),
• and ensuring a fisherman can sell the day's catch, making his costs to fish a worthwhile investment.

How it Works:

• HUDS determined days of the week for the "Catch" program and identified the  volume of fish to per meal period.
• Red's Best and HUDS agreed on a variety of species to be included in the program and a single set price per pound regardless of which of those varieties of fish is used.
• HUDS created six to eight standard recipes for the "Fresh Catch.”All rely on common ingredients in the kitchen and therefore don't require additional sourcing or ordering.
• Weekly, Red's Best informs HUDS of the type of fish being delivered (as needed, the Catch might be split between more than one kind of fish, though each dining hall will only receive one kind of fish). 
• On the day of service, HUDS posts signage showcasing the type of fish, including information of the fisherman and fishing vessel that caught the fish, as traceable through the Red's Best proprietary tracing software. Additional education highlights the type of fish, the history of New England fishing, etc