John’s Newfoundland to begin his career on the Boston Fish Pier. Hard work and a relentless passion for quality quickly distinguished “Jim” as a leader in the booming seafood industry. In 1954, Jim opened Turner Fisheries, a wholesale company, committed to supplying only the freshest New England seafood. With the growth of the commercial airline industry and the ability to fly fresh seafood anywhe
re in the U.S, the country’s finest restaurants and clubs began advertising: "Today’s fish flown in fresh from Boston’s Turner Fisheries." Likewise, Turner Fisheries proudly displayed its new title ”The nation’s leading quality seafood house." In 1978, Westin Hotel executives, so impressed with their Boston based supplier, sought permission to use the Turner Fisheries name for the their flagship restaurant in their Boston Copley Square hotel. The 1980’s marked a dramatic change for the New England seafood industry. Reduced fish stocks and newly enacted fishing regulations drastically altered the business landscape. In 1989, John Turner, Jim’s only son, created a new wholesale company, J. Turner Seafoods, in Gloucester, MA specifically designed to accommodate tighter supplies and stricter regulations.
