Product knowledge
Practical, specification-level guidance on grading, yield, storage, shipping and import documentation, plus a profile of each species in our range. Written for importers, distributors, chefs and retail buyers by the BSA Food Products sourcing team.
Quality & Grading7 min read
A practical framework for grading dried fish maw by thickness, size, color, dryness, odor and sex, with an evaluation method for trial lots and the documents to expect with each one.
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Quality & Grading6 min read
How species, processing, salt and residual moisture shape the rehydration yield of dried sea cucumber, and how to turn a price per dry kilogram into a cost per usable portion.
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Quality & Grading8 min read
A working method for grading dried abalone by head count, origin, drying style and condition, with a soak-and-braise trial protocol and a checklist for comparing offers on equal terms.
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Quality & Grading7 min read
How the trade describes bird’s nest grades by format, size, completeness, cleanliness and moisture, why grade labels differ between suppliers, and the checks and laboratory tests that protect importers.
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Buying Guide6 min read
How to grade dried scallops by origin, size, color, aroma and firmness, when broken conpoy is the smarter buy, and what to specify for retail and private-label packs.
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Buying Guide7 min read
How chefs, foodservice buyers and brand owners match grade and format to the application, compare suppliers on cost per portion, and keep quality consistent across orders and channels.
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Buying Guide7 min read
How to specify and check frozen shrimp: species and cuts, count notation per pound or per kilogram, glaze and net weight, IQF and block formats, defects, treatment declarations and an arrival routine.
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Buying Guide8 min read
A practical guide to buying king crab and snow crab: species and formats, size grades that need defining in writing, meat fill and glaze, catch documentation, storage and a pre-shipment and arrival checklist.
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Buying Guide8 min read
A working guide to frozen shellfish formats, freezing methods, glaze, treated scallop meat, count grading, raw and cooked handling and the harvest-area records every bivalve lot should carry.
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Buying Guide8 min read
A specification framework for fish skin, scales and bone bought as collagen, gelatin and calcium feedstock, from species declarations and handling forms to test parameters, stream designation and supplier qualification.
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Storage & Handling7 min read
A practical guide to keeping high-value dried seafood in sound condition, from warehouse humidity control and chilled holding to handling after rehydration.
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Import & Compliance7 min read
The market-access, species, documentation, classification and commercial checks an importer should complete before placing a first order for dried seafood.
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Import & Compliance7 min read
How to tell sturgeon caviar from other fish roes, how the CITES permit and container label system works, and how buyers grade, store and document caviar and roe.
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Import & Compliance8 min read
A logistics guide for seafood buyers: reefer and dry-container shipping, temperature records, air freight for chilled and live product, where Incoterms 2020 place cost and risk, and the evidence a claim needs.
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Species Profiles7 min read
Which Haliotis species reach the market, what each is called from Hong Kong to Cape Town, where farmed and wild abalone comes from, and how kitchens in Asia and North America cook it.
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Species Profiles7 min read
How sea cucumbers live, what they are called from Dalian to Jakarta, which species are farmed or fished, how kitchens use them and which tropical species now need CITES permits.
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Species Profiles6 min read
The urchins behind uni: species eaten in Japan, the Americas and Europe, what red and white uni mean, when each origin is in season, and which form suits sushi, pasta or sauces.
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Species Profiles6 min read
What geoduck is, how it lives buried for a century or more, where commercial supply comes from, what Chinese and Japanese markets call it, and how cooks prepare the siphon.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Which jellyfish are eaten and why, where the fisheries are, how fresh medusae become crunchy cured jellyfish over several weeks, and how cooks from China to Sarawak serve it.
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Species Profiles8 min read
Which scallop is which: how Yesso, Atlantic sea, Peruvian, bay and smaller species differ in shell, meat, roe and origin, what each market calls them, and where each one fits on a menu.
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Species Profiles7 min read
How the world’s main edible oysters differ in shell, meat and origin, why one Asian species now dominates oyster farming, and what names such as rock, native and kaki actually mean.
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Species Profiles7 min read
A field guide to the clams that matter in trade, from the Manila clam farmed on Asian mudflats to the quahog of New England, with the names, shells and dishes that set each one apart.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Blue, Mediterranean, Chilean and green mussels look alike on a plate but differ in origin, size, meat color and farming method. This profile sorts them out and shows how each cuisine cooks them.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Two very different products share the name surf clam: the red-tipped Arctic clam sliced for sushi and the big Atlantic clam cut into strips and chowder meat. Here is how they, and their Japanese cousin, differ.
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Species Profiles7 min read
The sea snails sold as whelk and conch come from several unrelated families. This profile sorts out the species, the names used in different markets and the one conch that sits under CITES controls.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Several genera of long, burrowing bivalves share the razor clam name. Here is how they differ, where each comes from, what they are called in Spain, France, Italy and Asia, and how cooks prepare them.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Squid in trade comes from two main families with different textures, fisheries and names. This profile explains how to recognize each, where supply comes from and how cooks use whole, cut and dried squid.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Cuttlefish are bottom-living relatives of squid with a chalky internal shell and thick, white flesh. Learn which species reach the market, how to recognize them and how different cuisines cook them.
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Species Profiles6 min read
From the common octopus of Galician pulperías to the small Amphioctopus sold as baby octopus, here is how the species differ, where they are caught and how kitchens prepare them.
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Species Profiles8 min read
How red, blue, golden and southern king crab differ, how the animal grows, which fisheries land it and when, and how to tell it from centollón, snow crab and imitation crab.
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Species Profiles6 min read
The animal behind snow crab clusters: a cold-water relative of the spider crabs that stops growing at maturity, the fisheries that land it from Canada to Japan, and how it compares with bairdi and red snow crab.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Who is who in the Portunus pelagicus group since its 2010 split, how to recognize the crab under its many market names, where it is caught, and how kitchens from Southeast Asian stalls to American crab cake lines use it.
Read the guideSpecies Profiles6 min read
A profile of the mangrove crabs of the genus Scylla: the four species recognized since 1998, how they live in mangroves and ponds, the names and categories used in Asian markets, and the dishes they are bought for.
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Species Profiles7 min read
How clawed lobsters differ from spiny and rock lobsters, which species come from which oceans, what homard, langouste and crayfish really mean, and where slipper lobsters and langoustines fit.
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Species Profiles7 min read
One burrowing lobster, sold under half a dozen names. How to recognize Nephrops norvegicus, where it is caught, why supply shifts through the year and how cooks use each form.
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Species Profiles6 min read
How a Pacific shrimp from the coast between Mexico and Peru became the base of the farmed shrimp trade, how to tell it from other white shrimps, and where each form fits in the kitchen.
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Species Profiles6 min read
The big banded shrimp of South and Southeast Asian ponds. How to identify Penaeus monodon, how its farming grew and shifted, which other tiger prawns get mixed up with it and how kitchens show it off.
Read the guideSpecies Profiles6 min read
A wild, cold-water shrimp that is red before it ever meets heat. Where Pleoticus muelleri lives, how Argentina fishes and manages it, and what cooks need to know about its tender meat.
Read the guideSpecies Profiles6 min read
A river prawn whose head can rival its tail in size and whose biggest males carry long blue claws. How the species lives, how Asia farms it, why handling matters and how Thai and Bengali kitchens cook it.
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Species Profiles7 min read
Mantis shrimp are stomatopods, not shrimp. How to tell the commercial species apart, what Asian and European markets call them, when they are caught and how kitchens cook them.
Read the guideSpecies Profiles8 min read
Crawfish, crayfish, crawdads and mudbugs are the same freshwater crustaceans. This profile sorts out the species, where supply comes from, when the season peaks and how each cuisine cooks them.
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Species Profiles7 min read
Every tin of caviar starts with a fish that takes years to mature. This profile covers sturgeon biology, the species and hybrids on farms, how farming works and what becomes of the rest of the fish.
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Species Profiles6 min read
The flathead gray mullet is a plain-looking coastal fish with a valuable roe. How to identify it, where and when its roe is taken, and how bottarga, karasumi and wuyuzi differ.
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Species Profiles7 min read
Edible bird’s nest is built by small cave-dwelling swifts, not swallows. Meet the birds, see how their nests are made and harvested, and learn how cooks prepare them.
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Species Profiles9 min read
Most tilapia sold worldwide is farmed Nile tilapia or a red or gray hybrid bred from it. Here is how the fish differ, where they are raised and how kitchens from Bangkok to Accra cook them.
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Species Profiles7 min read
The fillets sold as basa, swai, tra and panga nearly all come from one farmed Mekong catfish. This profile untangles the names and follows the fish from river to pond to plate.
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Species Profiles6 min read
One silvery fish, farmed for centuries in brackish ponds, feeds much of the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan. Its fine bones shape every product made from it.
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Species Profiles8 min read
Four farmed carps share a family name but differ in shape, diet, flesh and the dishes they are bought for. This guide shows how to tell them apart and where each one fits.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Rohu and catla are the fish of the South Asian curry pot, raised together in village ponds from Bengal to Punjab. Here is how they differ and what buyers and cooks look for in each.
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Species Profiles8 min read
Nearly every Atlantic salmon in trade is farmed, in cold coastal waters from Norway to Tasmania. Here is how the species lives, where supply comes from and how to tell it from Pacific salmon and sea-farmed trout.
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Species Profiles6 min read
An estuary fish that changes sex as it grows, barramundi is now farmed from Thailand to Australia. This profile sorts out its many names, its relatives and the forms kitchens buy.
Read the guideSpecies Profiles7 min read
Strictly, red snapper is one Atlantic fish; in practice the name covers a group of red Lutjanus snappers. This guide sorts out which species is which and where each one comes from.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Grouper is a family name for well over a hundred reef fishes. Here are the few that dominate trade, how to tell them apart, where farmed supply comes from and how the live market shapes demand.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Two small, rose-red Mediterranean fish share the name red mullet, and Asian goatfish often borrows it. This profile shows how to tell them apart and how each reaches the kitchen.
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Species Profiles8 min read
A profile of the tuna landed in the largest volumes: how to recognize skipjack, what it is called from Tokyo to Malé, how it is fished, and why most of it ends up canned or dried.
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Species Profiles7 min read
The tuna most menus mean by ahi: how yellowfin is identified, why French offers call it albacore, where it is caught, how loins are judged, and how chefs serve it raw and cooked.
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Species Profiles6 min read
Dolphinfish, dorado, perico, lampuki: one fast-growing ocean fish with many names. How to recognize mahi-mahi, where and when it is caught, and how it is cooked.
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The only member of its family, built for hunting in the deep: what defines a swordfish, what it is called from Chile to Japan, how it is caught and managed, and how to tell its steaks from shark.
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The word mackerel covers three different groups of fish. How to tell Scomber, Rastrelliger and Scomberomorus apart, what each is called, where it is caught and how it is eaten.
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The North Pacific cod relative that most people eat without knowing its name: how it lives, where it is caught, and why surimi makers and fish-finger lines depend on it.
Read the guideSpecies Profiles7 min read
A cold-water schooling fish with many separate spawning stocks and a curing tradition that runs from kippers to maatjes, explained for buyers choosing frozen raw material.
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Species Profiles7 min read
One market name, several fish. How the European pilchard, the Sardinops sardines of the Pacific and southern oceans and the tropical sardinellas differ, and why labels care.
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Species Profiles7 min read
The brown seaweed at the heart of dashi: what kombu is botanically, how Rishiri, Rausu and Hidaka kombu differ, where farmed kelp comes from and how kitchens use each cut.
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Species Profiles7 min read
Laver, wakame, hijiki and the red seaweeds behind agar, carrageenan and sea moss: what each plant is, where it is grown and how it reaches the kitchen.
Read the guideTrade inquiries
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