New Bedford's Waterfront Even Gives Us Pet Food

You probably know about New Bedford’s role in the fishing industry and how it continues to supply fresh fish and economic growth to the city, but did you know our pets are benefitting from the efforts, too?

Local fresh fish isn’t just for your favorite restaurants and grocery stores. The New Bedford waterfront is also busy supplying high-quality sources of protein to our four-legged friends.

On Monday, Bay State Pet in Taunton highlighted the work of NORPEL Premium Seafood in New Bedford. Eoin Rochford, manager of NORPEL, shared how NORPEL takes pride in providing several types of fish to Champion Petfoods, creators of a popular brand called Acana that has been feeding cats and dogs since 1985.

From herring to mackerel, NORPEL plays a huge part in allowing brands like Champion to be innovators in pet specialty foods.

“One thing I’m very impressed about with Champion is they are very specific with the ingredients they need,” said Rochford. “Champion always insists on getting the whole fish so that they have all the protein.”

Dog food no longer has to be mystery meat thanks to efforts like this New Bedford business, and that’s something any pet lover would appreciate.

“Headquartered on Fish Island in American’s No. 1 seafood port in New Bedford, NORPEL producers and procures the world’s best seafood ingredients for pet food producers,” said NORPEL. “NORPEL sources only the best raw materials from producers and offers a wide variety of species to choose from, both Wild-Caught Fisheries and Aquaculture producers.”

New Bedford’s ports continue to prove just how important they are to the flow of commerce on the SouthCoast and beyond.

If you want your pet to eat local and eat healthily, find Acana pet food in these SouthCoast pet stores: