That's the Stinson tradition in Maine. To learn more about the history of the Maine sardine industry and the efforts to maintain its high quality standards, see History and Quality Standards. Fresh From The Sea Fresh from the cold Atlantic waters of the Gulf of Maine, the day's catch is taken rapidly by company ship to one of the three modern Stinson packaging plants in Maine. Our unique salt water ice slurry refrigeration method insures that the fish are as fresh in the can as just caught. In the packing room, sardine size herring are packed four to twelve fish per can.
Larger fish become fish steaks and fillets.
No machine has ever been invented that could match the speed, skill and care of our Maine packers. The packed cans are then cooked twice. First the freshly packed herring go into huge cookers for 25 minutes. Stinson's Prospect Harbor plant uses the largest convection oven of its type in the world. It was designed and constructed especially for Stinson Seafood.