The summer grilling season is well under way, boosting business in meat and poultry departments throughout the country. But seafood departments aren't sitting idly by — many are stocking their cases with top-selling species like salmon, tilapia and shrimp, and highlighting the category with summer promotions and in-store demo sessions. They're also cross-merchandising products from other departments, such as spices, cedar planks and an array of grilling utensils and accessories.

For example, D&W, the upscale chain owned by Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spartan Stores, is busy preparing for its annual Seafood Roadshow, a rotational event that moves from one group of Spartan stores to another throughout the summer.

“The Roadshows occasionally include sampling and cooking demonstrations, and we use separate ‘Selling Stations’ to create an event atmosphere,” said Ron Gardner, director of meat and seafood for the chain. “The focus in item assortment is on bigger sizes than the everyday offerings, at very competitive prices. Examples of recent items used in the promotion are marlin, swordfish and tuna steaks, and we will be using crab legs and scallops too.”

Aside from these items, Spartan and its D&W stores also sell an abundance of salmon. In fact, salmon is the No. 1-selling fish product at the chain, Gardner told SN.

“Farm-raised Atlantic salmon fillets are the largest-volume item we carry at D&W,” he said. “We sell salmon in many different forms, including fresh fillets, whole dressed, steaks, preseasoned fresh fillet portions, preseasoned skewers, kabobs, stuffed fillet portions and frozen fillet portions.”

The retailer advertises one seafood product each week on the Grilling Promo page of its circulars. Ad items range from jumbo sea scallops, jumbo freshwater prawns and preseasoned salmon fillets to salmon kabobs and tuna, swordfish and halibut steaks.

D&W focuses on fresh Alaskan sockeye fillets during the summer, while they are in season, but has frozen sockeye fillets in stock year-round. Alaskan king and coho are also promoted heavily during the summer and at the retailer's Glen's and Family Fare banner stores. Alaskan silverbright chum salmon is also a promotional success from June to August, said Gardner.

“We also have frozen Alaskan salmon fillets with cedar planks and cooking directions in each package,” he said.

Bloom, a banner of Food Lion, will be promoting cut-to-order tuna steaks and cut-to-order swordfish steaks throughout the summer. In addition, Bloom will feature both shark and salmon steaks, and large raw colossal shrimp, 8-12 count, for the grilling season, said spokeswoman Karen Peterson.

“Also, every Friday afternoon, ‘Bloom Taste Ambassadors’ will be positioned in the seafood area to cook and demo the ‘Too Fresh to Advertise’ item so our guests will know just how easy it is to prepare seafood selections,” said Peterson.

The retailer also plans to sell Fire and Flavor grilling planks in three wood varieties, as well as dry rubs specially blended for seafood.

Sweetbay Supermarkets, Tampa, Fla., has a bounty of seafood promotions on its calendar for June, July and August. An Old Bay Back Yard Summer Party event is already in full swing and will run through July 16.