Free one-on-one business support to help your business thrive
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Are you a fisherman/business in the Fishing Industry?
Do you have questions about:
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Are you a chef or business in the seafood restaurant/retail industry?
Do you have questions about:
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If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, now is the time to take advantage of the free and confidential business support offered through the Fish Forward Project.
Clicking the "Request Business Support" button above will take you to the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center website to register for business support.
About the Project
Rhode Island’s seafood sector has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. But this crisis has also opened new innovations and opportunities. The Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island (CFCRI) has partnered with the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center (RISBDC) to provide free consulting to fishermen and seafood businesses. Known as “Fish Forward”, this new program has been established to help the community recover and then thrive in the long-term. All services being offered are free and confidential and are informed by the needs of the sector. They include monthly webinars; a free legal clinic; a blog about the latest goings-on; and one-on-one counseling that can cover a range of needs, like identifying and connecting with new markets, building a web presence, accounting advice, and licensing, permitting, insurance assistance, and a host of other things. These services are available until September 2021, so take advantage now! If you have any further questions feel free to contact fredmattera@cfcri.org or shayerooney@cfcri.org.
This project is funded through the CARES Act and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
This project is funded through the CARES Act and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
We Want to Hear from You! We want to understand how your business has been impacted by the pandemic and your specific business needs. Fill out this survey to tell us how we can better support you and your business.
Beyond Direct Marketing
Are you interested in selling your seafood directly to the public? The are various opportunities and pathways to sell and market your seafood directly to consumers such as selling at the docks, at farmer's markets, through community-supported fisheries, and by using home delivery models. If you are interested in pursuing any of these business models. We can help you get started. Sign up for business support above or check out some of the resources below.
PEDDLER LICENSE - Guide to selling Seafood at Farmers' Markets, through a home delivery route, or through a Community Supported Fishery
PEDDLER OPERATIONAL PLAN SAMPLE
PEDDLER LICENSE - Guide to selling Seafood at Farmers' Markets, through a home delivery route, or through a Community Supported Fishery
PEDDLER OPERATIONAL PLAN SAMPLE
Past Webinars
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Hindsight is 2020: an informal discussion for RI seafood dealers and restaurants to collaborate on new opportunities
Monday, December 14th from 2:00-3:00pm About: Join us December 14th from 2:00-3:00pm for shared conversations between retail markets, dealers, and restaurants: how have you been impacted? How can we support each other? Looking back on a crazy year and looking forward to explore new opportunities and collaborations within the RI seafood industry. |
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Direct Seafood Sales: Moving Forward
Tuesday, October 13th 4:00-5:30pm During this webinar we discussed opportunities to move forward on direct sales of seafood and alternative avenues with the RI Department of Environmental Management and RI Department of Health. You can view the webinar materials using the links below. Webinar Recording Webinar Slides Webinar Notes Tax Planning Basics for Small Businesses
March 31st from 3:00-4:00pm Fish Forward hosted a webinar focused on taxes to learn about tax planning vs. tax preparation, tax requirements based on business structure, and to provide access to resources and tools to help you this tax season.
Webinar Recording Webinar Slides Videos |
Beyond the Dock Direct Sales
Fish Forward hosted a webinar to learn about the different opportunities and pathways for fishermen to sell their seafood directly to consumers, such as home delivery, farmer's markets, and community supported fisheries. Webinar Recording 0:00 CFCRI - Introduction 4:11 DEM - Direct Sales Dealers License 16:10 DOH - Peddlers License 27:23 DEM - State Farmers Markets 36:03 Farm Fresh - Summer Farmers Markets/Local Food Access 42:30 Farm Fresh - Snap/EBT progam (can be used for seafood) 1:00:30 Local Catch Network - Seafood Locator/CSFs |
Attention all chefs, restaurants, markets, and seafood lovers: check out this video on our favorite way to prepare one of our favorite local fish, Salt Cured Rhode Island Butterfish! Quick, simple, and delicious!
Black sea bass is one of the fisheries that has been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with reduced markets, support your local fishermen and businesses take, home some Rhode Island black sea bass today!
As we all know the restaurant industry has been hammered by the pandemic. The whole oyster industry has been dependent on that market. This winter will not be easy for our local oyster growers. Support your local community, get out there and eat some oysters this holiday season!
Whiting, a relative of the codfish, have been an important fishery resource to Rhode Island for as long as Rhode Islanders have gone fishing. There's a lot of history in it. This is a two-part video, and close to 8 minutes long, so be sure to make some popcorn. The first part is about the fishery, history, and its importance to Rhode Island. The second part, after the red buoy, is about the markets, and how people eat them. We hope you enjoy it.
Project Partners
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