March 30, 2020 — U.S. seafood suppliers are working to quickly shift from foodservice to retail and direct-to-consumer channels as they deal with the immediate impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on their businesses.
Filer, Idaho-based Riverence Holdings LLC, which acquired farmed trout producer Clear Springs Foods in February, is realizing a significant loss in business due to its heavy focus on the foodservice sector, according to Riverence Director of Communications Gabe Watkins.
March 30, 2020 — U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a proposal that would allow companies to defer their payments on imported goods subject to tariffs for 90 days, as a means to ease the financial strain hitting the American economy as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
Though Trump has denied he is considering the proposal, Bloomberg reported on 25 March his administration has debated the deferment program with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other government agencies. White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow in particular has advocated for the move to allow the deferral of tariff payments, Bloomberg reported.
March 30, 2020 — Congress has passed a $2 trillion rescue plan but before those funds start to flow, American companies from the owner of a single liquor store in Boston to corporate giants like Macy’s Inc., must decide what to do about April’s bills: Which obligations do they pay and which can they put off? How many employees can they afford to keep on the payroll? Can they get a break on rent?
The decisions they make this week could shape how deeply the economy is damaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Rent is due. Utilities are due. Credit card bills are due April 1,” said Hadley Douglas, who has laid off two workers from her liquor business, The Urban Grape. “The deadline is looming large and it is petrifying.” She said her landlord turned down a request to temporarily pay half the rent but said to keep in touch as it was focusing first on smaller, harder hit businesses.
Millions of Americans are suddenly out of work and many businesses have already closed under orders from state and local governments to close to prevent the spread of the virus. A record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ended March 21.
The U.S. restaurant industry has lost $25 billion in sales since March 1, according to a survey of 5,000 owners by the National Restaurant Association. Nearly 50,000 stores of major U.S. retail chains have closed, according to the companies.
March 30, 2020 — Sen. Edward Markey warned members of the fishing community Saturday that the country was just at the beginning of the coronavirus health crisis.
“These numbers are mounting, the number of cases, and it could go on potentially for a sustained period of time,” Markey said to dozens of fishing industry leaders, state legislators and mayors on a weekend conference call.
“Three hundred million is a great start, but it’s hard to imagine it will go very far,” said Jeffrey Reichle, president of Lund’s Fisheries of Cape May, New Jersey, of the $300 million economic aid package to the fisheries, contained in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus economic stimulus bill signed Friday by President Donald Trump.
Markey said the relief package was a life raft to get them through the immediate crisis period. Congress, he said, was “fully prepared to come back as many times as it takes to make sure we keep all industries afloat in this health care crisis.”
Markey was critical of the Trump administration’s handling of the crisis and how it was affecting businesses such as the $1 billion New England fishing industry. The shortage of virus test kits, and the delay invoking wartime powers to push industries to convert to producing needed supplies such as masks and ventilators, meant they were on uncertain ground in telling them how long it might take to get back to work.
March 30, 2020 — The region’s fishermen are looking toward an uncertain future with portions of their markets disappearing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but for now, most are still going on with business as usual.
Since the fishing industry was deemed part of the food supply chain, it is allowed to keep operating as an essential service under Gov. Charlie Baker’s stay-at-home advisory.
“Immediate impacts have been minimal,” scalloper Eric Hansen said Thursday. “The market is a little bit depressed but nothing crazy. My bigger concern is the future, what’s going to happen in the next couple of months.”
The market depression was caused by limitations placed on restaurants, which have caused the restaurants to either close or limit their offerings.
March 30, 2020 –As you surely are aware, this week Congress passed, and the President signed, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
To assist members of the domestic seafood harvesting and processing industry, we are providing two documents.
“The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act,” prepared by the minority staff of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and provided to us by Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts. It includes information on Paycheck Protection Program loans, the Small Business Debt Relief Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Emergency Economic Injury Grants, Small Business counseling, Small Business Contracting, and Small Business Tax Provisions.
“Coronavirus Emergency Loans, Small Business Guide and Checklist” prepared by the US Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has issued this guide to help small businesses and self-employed individuals prepare to file for a loan.
March 30, 2020 — The effects of covid-19 in North Carolina are widespread and touching all aspects of the fishing industry, including seafood harvesters, wholesalers, retailers and processors — all currently operating their businesses at a fraction of their normal production or in many cases, closed for business.
“It’s affecting everyone,” said Brent Fulcher, of Beaufort Inlet Seafood and B&J Seafood and Fish Market in New Bern, N.C. “No one knows if this will last two more days, two more months or all year.”
As restaurants and retailers close across the country, markets for fresh seafood are quickly drying up. The severe cutbacks are particularly tough on small operators like Keith Bruno, owner of Endurance Seafood in Oriental, N.C.
“It’s difficult, if not impossible, to sell anything right now. We won’t be putting any more pots overboard. And with Virginia and Maryland opening, I doubt any North Carolina crabs will be sold,” said Bruno. “Right now, I just don’t see any light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.”
Making matters worse is the closure of restaurants and fish markets up and down the coast. New York, Boston and Baltimore are shutting down, following government mandates to help slow the spread of the virus.
March 27, 2020 — With restaurants across the country shuttered COVID-19 outbreak restrictions, the seafood supply chain in most regions has grinded to halt. Fishermen are stuck with their catch left unsold and their boats tied up.
Legislators in Massachusetts and Alaska have called for urgent support for the fishing industry, but fishermen are stuck fending for themselves in the meantime. For fishermen and businesses focused on direct marketing and selling their catch locally, this means quickly pivoting their businesses to adjust to consumer needs during the pandemic.
Tele Aadsen of Nerka Sea Frozen Salmon in Bellingham, Wash., has been hustling nonstop to earn what she can since dining rooms were closed on March 15 and restaurants were limited to takeout and delivery options. Practically overnight, 90 percent of the company’s clients were lost.
March 27, 2020 — For decades, lobster has been the symbol of Maine’s fishing industry, but at the moment the microscopic coronavirus is taking center stage.
As recently as Feb. 27, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported no confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the state. By Thursday, the public health agency reported 155 confirmed cases in Maine and the state was on virtual lockdown. All those who could work from home were staying away from their offices, “nonessential” businesses were shuttered, and bars and restaurants were closed except for takeout and delivery business.
While the economic news has been bad for all sectors of the economy, the fishing industry has been particularly hard-hit.
Last Friday, Gov. Janet Mills wrote to President Trump seeking “immediate assistance” for the Maine fishing industry. Harvesters, she said, “have only limited opportunities within their communities to sell small quantities … in hopes to earn just enough money to buy weekly necessities.” Likewise, she said dealers and processors reported there were “no markets for the product already in inventory.”
March 27, 2020 — State regulators are relaxing some rules for Maine’s valuable elver fishery, in order to get the delayed season underway while maintaining safe practices during the coronavirus pandemic.
Licensed fishermen will be able to harvest not only their own quotas, but those of others as well, and to bring them all to dealers. The goal, says Department of Marine Resources spokesman Jeff Nichols, is to reduce the number of people involved on a daily basis.
“So that will reduce the number of harvesters on the banks and at the shops where they’re sold,” Nichols says. “At the same time dealers have agreed to a set of guidelines intended to provide protection at the shops.”