Fisheries and Aquaculture Supply Chain

A supply chain is a network of producers and distributors between a company and its suppliers that gets a specific product - in this case fish - to a final buyer. Supply chains also represent the steps it takes to get a product or service from its original state to the customer. Supply chain management when done well can lower costs and speed a businesses' production and delivery cycle.   

Steps in a supply chain may include moving and transforming a raw material - like fish - into finished products, transporting those products, and distributing them to wholesale, retail, and directly to consumers. 

Minnesota Sea Grant engaged a student team from the University of Minnesota, Carlson Consulting Enterprise (CCE) to investigate the Lake Superior commercial fishery and aquaculture supply chains in Minnesota (and perhaps other Great Lakes states) to understand how best to increase the resiliency, flexibility, and sustainability of these supply chains in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and to mitigate future disruptions.

The Aquaculture Supply Chain project supports Sea Grant's mission to enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources in order to create a sustainable economy and environment. Specifically, this project supports our national and state focus area of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.

The Minnesota Sea Grant fisheries and aquaculture supply chain project team seeks to identify viable scenarios for the effective processing and distribution of commercial fish and aquaculture products in Minnesota. 

The Aquaculture Supply Chain project is funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Sea Grant Office.