Gorton's of Gloucester
Encyclopedia
Gorton’s of Gloucester is a subsidiary
of the Japanese seafood conglomerate Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd., producing fishsticks and other frozen seafood
for the retail market in the United States
. Gorton’s also has a North American foodservice business which sells to fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s
, and an industrial coating ingredients operation. It has been headquartered in Gloucester, Massachusetts
, since 1849.
When nearby Rockport’s chief industry, the Annisquam Cotton Mill, burned down, Slade Gorton, the mill’s superintendent, was out of a job. At his wife’s urging, he began a fishing business in 1874 known as the Slade Gorton & Company, and began to pack and sell salt codfish and mackerel in small kegs. This company was the first to package salt-dried fish in barrels. In 1899, the company patented the “Original Gorton Fish Cake.” In 1905, the Slade Gorton Company adopted the fisherman at the helm of a schooner (the “Man at the Wheel”) as the company trademark. Today, he is known as the Gorton’s Fisherman.
In 1906, Slade Gorton & Company and John Pew & Sons and two other Gloucester fisheries merged into the Gorton-Pew Fisheries. They made Gorton’s codfish cakes a household name in New England. The company offices were located at 372 Main Street, Gloucester, in the same building where Gorton’s Main Office is located today.
The company went into the fish-freezing business in the early 1930’s. In 1949, Gorton-Pew made headlines when it drove the first refrigerator trailer truck shipment of frozen fish from Gloucester, Massachusetts, to San Francisco, California – a trip that took eight days. In 1953, the company was the first to introduce a frozen ready-to-cook fish stick, Gorton’s Fish Sticks, which won the Parents Magazine Seal of Approval.
In 1957, Gorton-Pew Fisheries name was changed to Gorton’s of Gloucester; in 1965, it became The Gorton Corporation, and it is now known as Gorton’s. In 1968, Gorton’s merged with General Mills, Inc., as a wholly owned subsidiary.
In May 1995, Unilever
bought Gorton’s from General Mills
. In August 2001, Unilever sold Gorton’s and BlueWater Seafoods to Nippon Suisan (USA), Inc., a subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha
, Ltd., for US$175 million in cash.
In 2005, Gorton's acquired King & Prince Seafood of Brunswick, Georgia
.
, a fish native to the Bering Sea
, is the most important and primary source of supply. This resource is managed under provisions of United States federal law that require rigorous scientific assessment of the condition of the fishery and conservative catch allowances. The quota each season is only a small fraction of the total available resource, and all players (whether vessel operators or legislators) take an active role to see that the rules governing the harvest are followed. These conservative management practices have resulted in this fishery being recognized as the world’s best managed sustainable seafood resource.
, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Greenpeace
, due to their parent company’s involvement in whaling
in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
. These groups hope that international companies owned by Nippon Suisan Kaisha (such as Gorton’s) will persuade their parent company to stop supporting whaling if they are put under enough pressure.
Gorton’s is on record stating that the company has never engaged in any whaling activities, never killed a single whale in its entire 156 year history and never will. Gorton’s has always been opposed to whaling and has a long history and recognized commitment to environmental sustainability. Eventually, Nippon Suisan Kaisha agreed to divest its ownership in the company that owned the whaling fleet. Greenpeace hailed this as a victory and the boycott of Gorton’s ended.
Other notable pop culture appearances include:
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of the Japanese seafood conglomerate Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd., producing fishsticks and other frozen seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
for the retail market in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Gorton’s also has a North American foodservice business which sells to fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, and an industrial coating ingredients operation. It has been headquartered in Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
, since 1849.
History
The company traces its roots to a fishery called John Pew & Sons. William Pew, son of John Pew, picked up fishing after serving as a Colonial soldier in the French and Indian War. While most people moved West after the war, Pew turned eastward and arrived in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1755. The father-and-son fishery business emerged as an official commercial company, John Pew & Sons, in 1849.When nearby Rockport’s chief industry, the Annisquam Cotton Mill, burned down, Slade Gorton, the mill’s superintendent, was out of a job. At his wife’s urging, he began a fishing business in 1874 known as the Slade Gorton & Company, and began to pack and sell salt codfish and mackerel in small kegs. This company was the first to package salt-dried fish in barrels. In 1899, the company patented the “Original Gorton Fish Cake.” In 1905, the Slade Gorton Company adopted the fisherman at the helm of a schooner (the “Man at the Wheel”) as the company trademark. Today, he is known as the Gorton’s Fisherman.
In 1906, Slade Gorton & Company and John Pew & Sons and two other Gloucester fisheries merged into the Gorton-Pew Fisheries. They made Gorton’s codfish cakes a household name in New England. The company offices were located at 372 Main Street, Gloucester, in the same building where Gorton’s Main Office is located today.
The company went into the fish-freezing business in the early 1930’s. In 1949, Gorton-Pew made headlines when it drove the first refrigerator trailer truck shipment of frozen fish from Gloucester, Massachusetts, to San Francisco, California – a trip that took eight days. In 1953, the company was the first to introduce a frozen ready-to-cook fish stick, Gorton’s Fish Sticks, which won the Parents Magazine Seal of Approval.
In 1957, Gorton-Pew Fisheries name was changed to Gorton’s of Gloucester; in 1965, it became The Gorton Corporation, and it is now known as Gorton’s. In 1968, Gorton’s merged with General Mills, Inc., as a wholly owned subsidiary.
In May 1995, Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
bought Gorton’s from General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
. In August 2001, Unilever sold Gorton’s and BlueWater Seafoods to Nippon Suisan (USA), Inc., a subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha
Nippon Suisan Kaisha
is a marine products company based in Japan. It had annual revenues in 2004 of 4.7 billion USD. The company was established in 1911, and is a commercial fishing and marine product procurement operation. Its goal is to “Establish a global supply chain of marine products.” The company is the...
, Ltd., for US$175 million in cash.
In 2005, Gorton's acquired King & Prince Seafood of Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...
.
Gorton's History At-A-Glance
- 1849 – John Pew & Sons emerges as an official company
- 1874 – Slade Gorton & Company is founded
- 1875 – “Gorton’s” becomes a registered trademark
- 1889 – Gorton’s codfish becomes the first record of nationally advertised fish and Gorton’s codfish becomes a household word. Gorton’s billboards line railroads and roads across the United States
- 1899 – Slade Gorton & Company patents the Original Gorton Fish Cake
- 1906 – Gorton-Pew Fisheries is founded
- 1926 – Gorton-Pew introduces Gorton’s Ready-to-Use Codfish in a can
- Late 1950’s - Gorton’s Research Laboratory achieved a revolutionary new frozen process, exclusive under the brand name of Gorton’s of Gloucester, Inc., known as the Fresh-Lock Process. The “Fresh Lock” process was patented in 1963
- 1957 – Gorton-Pew Fisheries name changes to Gorton’s of Gloucester
- 1963 – Gorton’s acquires BlueWater Sea Foods, a Canadian brand
- 1964 – The Gorton’s Fisherman first appears on a Gorton’s box
- 1965 – Gorton’s of Gloucester becomes The Gorton Corporation
- 1968 – Gorton’s merges with General Mills as a wholly owned subsidiary
- 1978 – First production of the Gorton’s jingle “Trust the Gorton’s Fisherman, Gorton’s of Gloucester”
- 1995 – Unilever purchases Gorton’s from General Mills
- 2001 – Unilever sells Gorton’s and BlueWater Seafoods to Nippon Suisan (USA), Inc.
- 2005 – Gorton's removed trans fatTrans fatTrans fat is the common name for unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid. Because the term refers to the configuration of a double carbon-carbon bond, trans fats are sometimes monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, but never saturated....
from its entire line of products one year ahead of the January 1, 2006 U.S. federal deadline
Seafood Sustainability
Gorton’s purchases a wide variety of seafood raw materials, of which Alaska PollockAlaska pollock
Alaska pollock or walleye pollock is a North Pacific species of the cod family Gadidae. While related to the common Atlantic pollock species of the same family, the Alaska pollock is not a member of the same Pollachius genus.The Norwegian pollock , a rare fish of Norwegian waters, may actually be...
, a fish native to the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
, is the most important and primary source of supply. This resource is managed under provisions of United States federal law that require rigorous scientific assessment of the condition of the fishery and conservative catch allowances. The quota each season is only a small fraction of the total available resource, and all players (whether vessel operators or legislators) take an active role to see that the rules governing the harvest are followed. These conservative management practices have resulted in this fishery being recognized as the world’s best managed sustainable seafood resource.
Gorton’s Product Line
Gorton’s line of products includes the following:- Shrimp
- Shrimp Scampi
- Lemon Shrimp Scampi
- Butterfly Shrimp
- Beer Batter Shrimp
- Classic Grilled Shrimp
- Scampi Grilled Shrimp
- Popcorn Shrimp
- Premium Fillets
- Premium Tilapia
- Premium Haddock
- Premium Flounder
- Beer Batter Fillets
- Potato Crunch Fillets and Sticks
- Shrimp Bowls
- Fried Rice Shrimp Bowls
- Garlic Butter Shrimp Bowls
- Alfredo Shrimp Bowls
- Grilled Fillets
- Lemon Pepper Grilled Fillets
- Garlic Butter Grilled Fillets
- Cajun Blackened Grilled Fillets
- Lemon Butter Grilled Fillets
- Italian Herb Grilled Fillets
- Grilled Salmon
- Classic Grilled Salmon
- Lemon Butter Grilled Salmon
- Grilled Tilapia
- Roasted Garlic & Butter Grilled Tilapia
- Signature Grilled Tilapia
- Popcorn Fish
- Tenders
- Original Batter Tenders
- Extra Crunchy Tenders
- Beer Batter Tenders
- Fish Sticks
- Available in quantities of 12, 18, 30, 44 & 115 Fish Sticks
- Mini Fish Sticks
- Tilapia Fish Sticks
- Haddock Fish Sticks
- Traditional Fillets
- Crispy Battered Fillets
- Crunchy Golden Fillets
- Flavor Fillets
- Garlic and Herb Fillets
- Southern Fried Fillets
- Lemon Pepper Fillets
- Ranch Fillets
Whaling
In 2005, Gorton’s came under attack from the Environmental Investigation AgencyEnvironmental Investigation Agency
The Environmental Investigation Agency is an NGO founded in 1984 by Dave Currey, Jennifer Lonsdale and Allan Thornton, three environmental activists in the United Kingdom. Its stated goal is to investigate and expose crimes against wildlife and the environment...
, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, due to their parent company’s involvement in whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million square kilometres surrounding the continent of Antarctica where the International Whaling Commission has banned all types of commercial whaling...
. These groups hope that international companies owned by Nippon Suisan Kaisha (such as Gorton’s) will persuade their parent company to stop supporting whaling if they are put under enough pressure.
Gorton’s is on record stating that the company has never engaged in any whaling activities, never killed a single whale in its entire 156 year history and never will. Gorton’s has always been opposed to whaling and has a long history and recognized commitment to environmental sustainability. Eventually, Nippon Suisan Kaisha agreed to divest its ownership in the company that owned the whaling fleet. Greenpeace hailed this as a victory and the boycott of Gorton’s ended.
The Gorton's Fisherman in Popular Culture
The iconic slogan, "Trust the Gorton's Fisherman," produced in 1978, and the familiar yellow slicker and beard has made the Gorton's Fisherman a recognizable pop culture icon. In particular the Gorton’s Fisherman, has been featured on the "Late Show with David Letterman" numerous times:- On the January 12, 2007 show and again on the January 7, 2008 show David Letterman sported a yellow slicker, hat and beard and acted out an improvised Gorton’s Fish Stick commercial as the Gorton’s Fisherman complete with a box of Gorton's Fish Sticks.
- The Gorton’s Fisherman made the number seven spot on the “Top 10 Answers to the Question How Rainy Is It?” on April 16, 2007, which read “Number 7. It’s so rainy Regis’s guest host today was the Gorton’s Fisherman.”
- The Gorton's Fisherman also made the number five spot on the "Top 10 Surprises in 'Titantic'" list on January 8, 1998, which read, "Number 5. Graphic love scene between Kate Winslet and the Gorton Fisherman."
Other notable pop culture appearances include:
- In the 2006 Halloween edition of the popular cartoon website, Homestar RunnerHomestar RunnerHomestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes surreal humor with references to retro pop culture, notably video games, classic television, and popular music.The cartoons are nominally centered on the title character, Homestar Runner...
, The King of Town is dressed as the fisherman in the Gorton’s logo. - On February 6, 2005, during Super Bowl XXXIXSuper Bowl XXXIXSuper Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
, the Gorton's Fisherman appeared in a Mastercard commercial featuring 10 legendary advertising characters from various food and household products. - In the movie remake of the classic TV series "Bewitched" (2005), Nicole Kidman's character, Samantha Stephens, encounters the Gorton's Fisherman during a trip to the supermarket. The image of the Gorton's Fisherman on the box comes to life and speaks to her when she picks up a Gorton's package from the frozen food section.
- Fans of the New York RangersNew York RangersThe New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
of the NHL often taunt their rival team, the New York IslandersNew York IslandersThe New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and its fans. In the mid-1990s, the Islanders briefly changed their uniform from their traditional logo to a more new-age logo that featured a fisherman that many thought resembled the Gorton’s logo. Rangers fans have been known to chant, “We want fishsticks!” at both Madison Square GardenMadison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
and the Nassau Coliseum during games between the teams. - In an edition of WWE MagazineWWE MagazineWWE Magazine is the official professional wrestling magazine of WWE. This incarnation of the magazine contains lifestyle sections, a monthly calendar, entertainment, work out tips, and other information.-History:...
, the feature “Would You Buy This?” was a parody of Gorton’s, calling it, “Orton’s and replacing the fisherman with wrestler Randy Orton. - The Gorton’s Fisherman has been the answers to questions/ puzzles on "Jeopardy!" and the "Wheel of Fortune" game shows.
External links
- Official retail website
- BlueWater Seafoods, Gorton's subsidiary in Canada
- See Food Differently, an August 2004 trade magazine story about Gorton's
- Unilever sells seafood business, an August 2001 article
- Gorton's on Protecting their Resources
- America's Oldest Seaport, a short film about Gorton's and Gloucester