Ariel Seafoods
Destin & Sebastian, FL

A fish house by fishermen – that’s how we’d describe Ariel Seafoods.

Among the landmarks at its Destin, Fla., location is the 63-foot Jonathan T, a 1982 fiberglass Desco Marine vessel owner David Krebs Jr., fished in South America from 1989 to 1991. The ship provides constant reminder that Krebs is serious about the seafood business his father, David Krebs Sr., started as a trucking company in 1981.

Today, Ariel Seafoods operates out of Destin, Florida and Sebastian, Florida and unloads as far west as Louisiana. As a wholesale operation, Ariel provides daily fresh catch from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

In the seventies, the younger Krebs hauled seafood with his father from the Gulf Coast to the North East markets and Canada.  In 1981, his father expanded his business to include a wholesale fish company that operated out of Destin, Fla., and Port Fourchon, La.  In 1985, he purchased a sixty-eight foot long liner which was used for bottom long lining and surface long lining.  He fished secondary to his position as vice-president of Trip Seafood.

In the summer of 1987, he fished his long liner out of Montauk, New York for Big Eye Tuna.  Later, as the Gulf of Mexico fish stocks continued to decline, he took the boat to Suriname to fish for Red Snapper, and on to Trinidad, Venezuela, and El Salvador for grouper, golden tile and tuna. He returned to the United States in 1991 to rebuild Ariel Seafoods.

Krebs is passionate about conservation and about individual fishing quotas as a tool to achieve sustainability. It comes with being involved in all aspects of the commercial fishing industry for the last forty years.  He served on the Red Snapper IFQ AP and has been to New Zealand and British Colombia to study their IFQ Systems. He also serves on the Gulf of Mexico reef fish LAPP AP and the king mackerel IFQ AP. He currently own 5 commercial boats and  serves as President of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance.

Contact: (850) 654-7779