For Buyers · Distributors
Pallet-scale, year-round, lot-tagged.
Texas Redfish for seafood distributors — consistent weekly cold-chain freight from a single-species farm, with a lot ID on every carton your downstream customers can trace.
We harvest twice a week and ship cold-chain from Palacios. For distributors, that means a year-round Texas Redfish line without seasonal whiplash, a single-source supply chain for the only U.S. commercial redfish category there is, and documentation that travels downstream with the fish. We don't run a catalog; we run a farm. That focus is the selling point.
What matters on a distributor's dock
Reliability, cold chain, and a paper trail that travels.
01 · Supply
Year-round, twice-weekly harvest.
No seasonal gaps. No frozen-stock substitution. Standing pallet orders planned against our grow-out cohorts — we quote against capacity, not hope.
02 · Cold chain
Refrigerated freight to your warehouse.
Insulated packaging, gel or wet ice by transit time, refrigerated trucks on direct lanes. Temperature logs kept and available on request — standard recordkeeping, not a favor.
03 · Traceability
Lot ID per carton, downstream-ready.
Every carton carries a lot ID that traces back to broodstock genetics, hatchery date, raceway, and harvest date. Your downstream buyer can pull the trace through you. A public per-lot URL pattern is in development for v1.1.
04 · Category
The only U.S. commercial redfish is farmed.
Commercial wild redfish is illegal in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and federal Gulf waters. Any fresh redfish on a U.S. dock is farmed — and 8 of 9 U.S. redfish farms are in Texas. That's the category story.
Order shape
What a distributor engagement looks like.
Typical first engagement
- First order: a pallet. Mixed whole and filleted, to a spec you set.
- Standing cadence. Weekly or twice-weekly, planned against our two harvests per week.
- Cold-chain freight on direct routes; gel or wet ice to transit time for carrier hand-offs.
- Account setup on the first call. We will work out cadence, freight, and billing together.
Labeling note for downstream
Wholesale fish moving through distributors and processors is unlabeled per industry convention. Our "Texas-grown redfish" label stays with fish we ship direct from our farm to an end account. What ships to a distributor is U.S. farmed redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus) with a lot ID — nothing on the package that forces a specific downstream story.
The third-party record
"If you buy farm-raised red drum at a supermarket or order it at a restaurant anywhere in the U.S., there's a very good chance that it was produced in Texas."
— Todd Sink, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (2024)
Distributor FAQ
What a seafood buyer asks first.
What's a typical first order?
A pallet, mixed whole and filleted to a spec you set. From there we move to a standing weekly or twice-weekly cadence planned against our harvest calendar.
Can you support standing weekly pallet volume without seasonal gaps?
Yes. We harvest twice a week, year-round, and quote against our grow-out cohort capacity. Wild redfish has tight regulatory windows; our farm has no seasonal gaps, and pallet-scale standing volume is planned into the grow-out calendar.
What are your freight lanes?
Texas by default — direct routes to metro distribution points. Out-of-state is available case-by-case via cold-chain freight carriers. Tell us your receiving zip and we'll quote the lane.
How does downstream traceability work?
Each carton carries a lot ID that traces back to broodstock genetics, hatchery date, raceway, and harvest date. The lot card travels in the carton. Your downstream buyer can pull the trace through you by lot ID; a public per-lot URL (turtlecreek.fish/lot/[id]) pattern is in development for v1.1.
Can you support a private-label program?
Case-by-case. We won't change the species or the grading spec for a label; we will work with you on carton markings and accompanying documentation for the buyer's brand. Discuss specifics on the first call.
First inquiry
What to tell us on the first call.
No web form in v1. The fastest path is a phone call. If you'd rather email, here's what to include so we can quote on the first reply.
- Company and warehouse location. Receiving zip, dock hours if relevant.
- Expected weekly pallet count. Even a rough range.
- Whole / filleted mix. And size grade targets if you have them.
- End-market read. Restaurant, retail, food-service — so we can match grade to use.
- First-delivery timing and freight preference. Our truck to your dock, your carrier pickup, or a third-party lane.
Call (713) 364-3701
Email Sales@turtlecreek.fish
Hours Daily, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Central
Visit 7474 TX-35 S, Palacios, TX 77465 — by appointment
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