Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Bristol Bay leaders cautiously optimistic, but ask state for fishery closure if protocol can’t be met

April 17, 2020 — Friday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s communications director provided the following statement responding to the letter from the Bristol Bay Working Group:

“The State of Alaska continues to build testing capacity every day. Currently, testing capacity is not available to meet the requests made by the Bristol Bay work group, however, work is underway with communities, businesses, and all stakeholders in search of a balance that protects Alaskans and gives our critical fishing industry an opportunity to exist during upcoming fishing seasons.”

Leaders of several major organizations in Bristol Bay say they are more confident that a salmon season may be held safely this summer, but have joined in asking Gov. Mike Dunleavy to close the fishery if certain requirements can’t be met.

Wednesday evening, the Bristol Bay Working Group sent a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy calling on him to close the Bristol Bay fishery for 2020 if the steps it outlined earlier in the month cannot be met. The group comprises leaders of the Bristol Bay Housing Authority, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, Bristol Bay Native Association, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation and United Tribes of Bristol Bay.

The group’s protocols outlined in the letter include testing for people coming into the region, both before traveling to Bristol Bay and after arriving, as well as continued health screenings and other precautions.

“In the intervening two weeks, very little has happened,” said Norm Van Vactor, CEO of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation. “We’re sensing as community members that this freight train that’s bearing down on us is not slowed down, and to some extent has accelerated.

Read the full story at KTUU

With little business, Delaware fishermen just hoping they can survive

April 17, 2020 — Brian Hoffecker almost didn’t make it through the first year he ventured off on his own as a commercial fisherman.

It was the mid-1990s and he owed a lot of money on the boat he had just bought when a historic winter storm hit his prey – Delmarva’s iconic blue crabs – hard.

“When it was time to go crabbing, I was broke,” he said. “It was brutally cold and it killed most of the crabs. There weren’t any crabs to catch.”

After more than two decades making a living on the water, the impacts of the coronavirus, Hoffecker’s livelihood is threatened once again.

Read the full story at the Delaware News Journal

UK government announces £10m coronavirus fund for English fishing sector

April 17, 2020 — The UK government on Friday announced a £10m ($12.4m) fund to shield England’s fishing and aquaculture sectors from the impacts of coronavirus.

More than 1,000 fishing and aquaculture businesses in England will receive £9m in direct cash grants through a new fisheries support scheme, the government said, noting that the supports were designed to assist the sector with its “immediate needs” during the crisis.

The government also said that a further £1m would be made available to support projects to assist fishermen to sell their catch in their local communities during the pandemic.

The move, it said, would enable them to find new markets and support communities that depend on the fisheries industry.

Read the full story at Yahoo News

Top House Republican Backs Adding Hospital Funding to Small-Business Package

April 17, 2020 — The top House Republican said he would support adding money for hospitals to funding for a popular small-business aid program, pointing the way to a potential breakthrough in stalled talks with Democrats on the current round of stimulus spending.

In an interview, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said he would pair hospital funding with an additional $250 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, a small-business loan program that exhausted its initial $350 billion allocation money on Thursday.

Both Democrats and Republicans want to add funding to the small-business aid program, but have been sparring for days over the makeup of that aid and what else to include in the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Democrats want to expand access to the loans as well as include more money for hospitals, food assistance and state and local governments. Republicans, meanwhile, had said they want to keep the bill focused on increasing small-business aid and defer other funding debates until broader legislation is crafted.

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal

NFI signs letter requesting liability protection from essential workers

April 17, 2020 — The National Fisheries Institute, along with 31 other associations representing industries from beef to trucking, has signed onto a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell requesting Congress grant liability protection from lawsuits related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The industries that have signed onto the letter all represent “essential critical infrastructure,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. government has told these companies that they have a “special responsibility to maintain your normal work schedule.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Treatments containing fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids being trialed on COVID-19 patients

April 17, 2020 — In an effort to suppress and ultimately stifle the spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s scientific and medical communities are turning to treatments containing omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil for help.

Clinical trials will soon be run by KD Pharma Group and its partner, SLA Pharma, to test the effectiveness of its new drug, EPAspire, on patients symptomatic with inflammatory cytokines, which is believed to play a part in COVID-19’s progression. The United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has moved to expedite trials of the drug, while discussions with authorities in other European countries are underway, KD Pharma announced on 14 April.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NMFS suspends West Coast observer requirements

April 17, 2020 — Most requirements for observers aboard West Coast fishing vessels have been temporarily suspended through April, following the lead of NMFS’ decision to do the same earlier for Northeast fisheries in the face of coronavirus outbreaks.

The agency announced the decision Wednesday, April 15, hours after a recommendation from the Pacific Fishery Management Council, and also cited new policies of monitoring service providers to address health and safety concerns for their observers and fishing crews.

A NMFS notice to industry issued by the office of Ryan Wulff, the assistant Pacific regional administrator for sustainable fisheries, said the two-week hiatus was requested by contractors who provide observer services, and are now implementing health guidelines to address concerns raised by fishermen and plant operators.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Southeast Alaska fishermen’s group works to feed families affected by COVID-19

April 16, 2020 — With thousands of Alaskans out of work because of coronavirus mandates and other economic effects, fishermen and processors in Southeast Alaska are working to ensure families in need have access to food.

One of those groups, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, is partnering with processors in Sitka to distribute five-pound packages of fish to families in Sitka. The families in need have been identified through the town’s mutual aid program.

“Within a week or two of the shelter-in-place and a lot of the businesses closing down, hearing that the grocery store here was not accepting checks anymore because too many of them were bouncing, to me was a pretty clear sign that people are feeling that stress,” said Linda Behnken, Executive Director of ALFA. “Since we are probably closer to the whole economic impacts of this pandemic than the end, we started thinking about what we could do and talking to the processors here in Sitka, and right away heard from fishermen that where they can they’re willing to donate fish to help to get to families in need.”

Behnken said the processors then also jumped on boarding, saying they’d help get the fish to families as long as someone could distribute it. Anyone else who want to support the effort can help cover the costs by purchasing donation boxes through ALFA’s community-supported fishery program, Alaskans Own.

Read the full story at KTUU

Seafood Market Craters After Restaurants Shuttered Worldwide

April 16, 2020 — Just one kilogram of freshly caught squid a day was almost enough to live on for Thai fishermen like Wisut Boonnak. Now the catch has halved in price and he’s spending more time on village duties.

“It’s the biggest price drop that I can remember,” said Wisut, who’s been fishing for the past 40 years off the southern Thai coast. “There are fewer buyers around now because exports are lower.” Wisut used to go to sea daily to catch squid and mackerel. These days he’s out just once or twice a week.

The global seafood industry, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, is seeing demand crater. From lobster fishermen in North America to salmon farmers in Norway and shrimp producers in Vietnam, people are hurting as the coronavirus shuts cafes and restaurants and wreaks havoc with supply chains. Whether farmed or wild, fresh or processed, few areas have escaped the impact.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

Louisiana seafood businesses unite for broader sales

April 16, 2020 — Fisherman Lance Nacio, of Montegut, LA is trying to keep his struggling seafood business going, one sale at a time.

With curtailed restaurant operations, fishermen have had difficulty selling their catch.

Nacio, a third-generation fisherman, set up a pop-up sale in the parking lot of Randol’s Restaurant in Lafayette. April 9 was his second time to use this approach.

“It’s keeping us afloat. It’s opening our mind on new ways to move product,” he said.

The pop-up sale was promoted on the Louisiana Direct Seafood website and on Facebook.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has promoted the Louisiana Direct Seafood concept. On Facebook, the governor encouraged buying seafood.

Read the full story at The Magnolia Reporter