April 14, 2020 — Fishermen are looking at a reduced ocean salmon season this spring because of low salmon returns. But the industry is also hoping to buy time for seafood markets that are reeling from the impact of the coronavirus.
The industry has had to shift how it does business and many are still adapting as local restrictions due to the pandemic shutter usual seafood outlets.
The markets are slow now, but they may reinvent themselves, said Michael Burner, the deputy director of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. “There is still a demand for seafood,” he said.
The council recently adopted ocean salmon season recommendations for commercial and recreational fishermen for most of the Pacific coast, which include “some very restrictive seasons,” according to Phil Anderson, the council’s chairman.