Saving Seafood

Governor Hogan announces $3.4M to help aid Maryland’s fishing industry

August 5, 2021 — Help will soon be on the way for Maryland’s fishing industry.

Wednesday Governor Larry Hogan announcing $3.4 million in available relief funding.

The funding is through the Federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

Direct payments will be provided to commercial for hire, aquaculture, and seafood processing operations.

Speaking on the relief, Senator Mary Beth Carozza said quote: “Throughout this past year, I have heard from several commercial watermen, seafood processors, and aquaculture businesses about the financial challenges they have been up against during COVID-19. These funds will be used to strengthen fishery markets and are needed for a full economic recovery.”

The second round funding is targeted at individuals who have not received prior aid but have determined a loss of greater than 35% last year or expect a similar loss for 2021.

The online application will be available beginning Aug. 9 on the Maryland One-Stop website.

The deadline to apply is August 27, 2021.

Read the full story at WMDT

While demand for seafood is high, inflated costs are proving too pricey for some restaurants

August 4, 2021 — Rising inflation costs have walloped restaurateurs, forcing many to raise prices or scale back on offerings. For some restaurants, that’s meant pulling plates of scallops, crab, lobster, and fish as business owners say pandemic-driven price hikes and shortages have left them little room to make a profit. Bloomberg reports that congested ports and labor shortages have caused big delays and higher seafood prices.

On average, U.S. fishermen are older than 40, and Covid-related disruptions caused many to leave the industry for fields like construction. Seafood prices have risen 11 percent since July 2020, while demand has skyrocketed. One Georgia restaurant owner said he paid an Atlanta seafood distributor $18 for a pound of blue crab before the pandemic; now it would cost him $44. Not an ideal catch.

Read the full story at The Counter

August 2021 MAFMC Meeting to be Conducted by Webinar Only, In-Person Option Cancelled

August 3, 2021 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Due to the worsening situation with COVID-19 in Philadelphia and other areas of the country, Council leadership has made the difficult decision to cancel the in-person option for the upcoming Council Meeting to be held August 9-12, 2021. The meeting will be conducted by webinar only with the same format and procedures used for our recent virtual Council meetings.

Webinar connection instructions are provided below. Please see the August 2021 Council Meeting Page for additional information and briefing materials.

Webinar Details

Click here to join the meeting (If prompted, enter Meeting number: 1796121174 and Meeting password: WJpMjJQa249). To join by phone-only, dial 1-844-621-3956 and enter access code 1796121174.

For those who wish to listen but do not need to participate, a live stream of the meeting will also be available on our YouTube channel.

If you have webinar issues, please check the Webex Participant Guide to see if your question is addressed there. This page provides step-by-step instructions for joining a meeting from various devices. If you need further technical assistance, contact Stephen Pearson at spearson@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5256.

Questions?

Contact Mary Sabo, msabo@mafmc.org, (302) 518-1143.

LOUISIANA: $12.4M in COVID-19 relief funds coming from wildlife and fisheries

August 2, 2021 — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will soon begin accepting applications for $12.4 million in financial assistance that will be available to Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry who have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications for these funds will open at 8 a.m. Aug. 9.

Applications can only be submitted online. To access the application, visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/cares-act-assistance.

The application process will be open for a three-week period, according to LDWF. The deadline to submit applications is 11:59 p.m. Aug. Funding allocation has been structured so that all applications submitted before the deadline will be considered. The funds, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CARES 2.0), will be distributed as direct aid payments by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to those applicants who qualify.

“These federal funds are another step in alleviating some of the financial impacts of the pandemic on our state,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “While we know these funds are not a cure-all, we are grateful for the relief they will provide to our hardworking fishing community.”

LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet agreed with Edwards. “This is more crucial aid for our fishing community. While it will not totally bail out all of those hard workers, it does provide much-needed financial help to them.”

Read the full story at KTBS

US restaurants, casinos forced to pull crab, other species over high prices

August 2, 2021 — Seafood is being pulled from restaurant menus across the United States as it becomes too difficult – or expensive – to source.

Nearly every premium item – from lobsters and scallops to king crab and snow crab – is hard to come by these days. And prices on most items have risen at least 50 percent in the past quarter, according to Kristian Wade, executive chef at the MGM Resorts-owned Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ThisFish: Pandemic creates “new normal” for digitization

July 30, 2021 — The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for a digital transformation in seafood, according to ThisFish Inc. Co-Founder and CEO Eric Enno Tamm.

The seafood industry is lagging behind other industries in its embrace of digitization and move toward greater transparency in supply chains, Tamm said, and it must embrace the opportunity provided by the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to reorganize itself.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

California Current Fish Surveys Resume with 3-Month Assessment of Sardine, Anchovy, and Mackerel

July 30, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries has begun an ambitious assessment of small pelagic fish reaching from the Canadian border to the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, in cooperation with Mexico, which will help determine how many fish can be caught off the West Coast.

The COVID-19 pandemic had idled surveys for sardine, anchovy, and other species of small coastal pelagic species (CPS) off the West Coast since 2019. Small pelagic species are important ecologically and provide food for larger fish, such as tunas. The new assessment resumes regular CPS  surveys by collecting data from NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker, commercial fishing vessels equipped with acoustic technology, and autonomous Saildrones.

The Lasker left San Diego on July 6, becoming the centerpiece of the 3-month survey. It will cover thousands of miles in U.S., and Mexican waters. NOAA Fisheries scientists are coordinating efforts with federal fisheries agencies in Mexico and Canada, providing a science foundation for future decisions on fishing levels and seasons.

“Organizing and coordinating this survey was a tremendous feat of collaboration,” said Kristen Koch, Director of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, which is leading the survey. “Collecting data across all three countries will provide a valuable foundation for management of these important transboundary species.”

The Lasker will survey coastal pelagic fish along transects in the California Current, quantifying the fish with echosounders. These instruments include an advanced new model that can for the first time also measure the velocities of fish as they swim relative to the ship. The measurements will help to understand whether and how fish respond to survey vessels and if those reactions affect the quality of data on the numbers and distributions of fish.

Read the full release here

Louisiana Fishermen impacted by COVID-19 can soon apply for federal aid

July 30, 2021 — The Louisiana Deparment of Wildlife and Fisheries will soon begin accepting applications for financial assistance that will be available to fishermen and others in the industry who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applications for the $12.4 million in financial assistance will open on Monday, August 9 at 8:00 a.m.

The process will be open online only for a three week period.

The deadline to submit an application is August 29 at 11:59 p.m.

Funding allocation has been structured so that all applications submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Officials say the funds are part of Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CARES 2.0) and will be distributed as direct aid payments by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to those who qualify.

Read the full story at KLFY