April 10, 2020 — With restaurants closed, commercial fishers like Sean Heverin, from Leesville, are struggling to sell their catch. Heverin targets red snapper, among other species, which he then sells in bulk to companies that resell the fish to restaurants.
But that supply chain is gone, and retail markets cannot buy in the quantity that Heverin is used to selling.
“It’s been really tough lately with the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. “Lately, we’ve had to try pre-selling the fish before leaving the dock, and most places say no, or that the price is too high.”
Heverin and other Louisiana fishers could find some relief in the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump last month. The bill includes $300 million for those in the fishing industry whose businesses have seen losses greater than 35 percent as compared to the prior 5-year average revenue.
But the bill did not outline a process for distributing the funds, said Ashford Rosenberg, a policy analyst for the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance.