April 3, 2020 — With an initial $300 million aid package coming, the National Marine Fisheries Service has launched an effort to collect detailed information on how the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic lockdown is affecting the U.S. seafood industry.
The project includes online outreach, asking fishermen, aquaculture growers and other businesses through the supply chain to submit information by email to the task force at NMFS.COVID-19@noaa.gov
“We recently stood up a team of experts from across the agency to collect and analyze covid-19-related impacts on the U.S. commercial seafood industry, including wild harvest and aquaculture,” according to a statement by the agency Thursday. “We are interested in learning about the virus’ impacts on their employees, their business, the businesses they support, and the broader seafood supply chain.