In the past few years, Europe and the U.K. have been plagued with food contamination scares, from mad cow disease in Britain to contaminated chicken in Belgium. In response to these food-related crises, European and U.K. consumers are turning more and more to seafood as a protein alternative. The rapidly expanding demand for high quality seafood has led Gofish.com, the first and largest online seafood exchange, to announce today its intention of opening an office in one of four locations in either Europe or the U.K. Locations being considered are Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and London, with a decision expected to be made by late spring. "We are looking for a location that will allow us to be in close proximity to the largest number of European buyers and sellers and provide us with access to a large talent pool," says Gofish chief business development officer David Weatherbie, who is managing all details of this effort. The new office is expected to employ as many as 60 sales, marketing and operational staff with nearly all professionals coming from EU countries. Gofish is working with CMGI's (Nasdaq:CMGI - news) London office to identify appropriate locations in the UK and Europe. Gofish has received more than $40 million in venture capital in two rounds of funding from CMGI @Ventures, Bedrock Capital Partners, GE Equity, The CIT Group, Diversified Business Communications, publishers of SeaFood Business, the industry's most widely read trade publication, and private investors. Gofish unveils its services to the European seafood community May 9-11 at the European Seafood Exposition (ESE) in Brussels, Belgium. While Weatherbie and Gofish founder and CEO Neal Workman will be at the ESE, spokespeople will be available for interviews in the United States. To schedule an interview, please contact Melissa Moore at 503/721-4247.