November 17, 2020 — China’s testing of seafood for traces of COVID-19 will remain strict for the rest of the year, according to a leading marketing consultant in Shanghai.
Robin Wang, the CEO of SMH International, a seafood-focused marketing agency with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong with clients including the Alaskan Seafood Marketing Institute, told SeafoodSource the move will negatively impact the broader food market in China.
November 17, 2020 — U.S. foodservice organizations protested new restrictions on indoor restaurant dining being implemented in several states and cities due to soaring coronavirus cases across the country.
The U.S. reported more than 166,000 new COVID-19 cases on 17 November, and related hospitalizations rose to a record 73,014.
November 12, 2020 — Arctic researchers Jacqueline Grebmeier and Lee Cooper have been visiting the Bering and Chukchi seas off Alaska for nearly 30 years, collecting information about the biological diversity of the watery world under the sea ice to understand how marine ecosystems are responding to environmental changes. This year, a late-season research cruise in October revealed a surprise. At a time of year when an ice-breaking ship is usually required to get them to some of the data-gathering outposts, scientists found nothing but open water and an unusually active ecosystem.
“The water and air temperatures were warmer, and we had ecosystem activity that normally doesn’t occur late in the season,” said University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Research Professor Jacqueline Grebmeier, chief scientist on the research cruise and a national and international leader in Arctic research.
Grebmeier and Cooper were part of a small team of researchers from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Clark University that completed an unusual late-season Arctic research cruise due travel challenges presented by COVID-19 pandemic. They found an ecosystem—expected to be powering down to low-level winter activity with sea ice forming—to be still active, likely due to unseasonably warm ocean temperatures. Sea ice formation was still a number of weeks away.
“2020 turned out to be the second lowest minimum sea ice extent, meaning that sea ice retreated back closer to the North Pole,” Grebmeier said. “We had warming water up to 3 degrees Celsius higher than typical all the way through water column. That means you can’t cool it down that quickly to build ice.”
November 10, 2020 — The results of the recent U.S. election is expected to both positively and negatively impact restaurants, which are already struggling to remain open due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The National Restaurant Association has applauded the election of President-elect Joe Biden – who beat out current U.S. President Donald Trump, who was seeking a second term – but the organization stressed the urgency of Washington delivering financial help to the foodservice industry.
November 9, 2020 — The deadline is approaching for Maine fishermen to apply for help via the federal CARES Act.
The application period closes on Monday, the Maine Department of Marine Resources said. Assistance is available for fishermen in addition to aquaculturists and seafood dealers and processors.
The marine resources department said applications need to have been licensed to participate in their sector of the industry during 2019 to be eligible. The department said payments are expected to be made in December.
The coronavirus pandemic has hurt Maine’s seafood industry in part because of the hit taken by restaurants, which are critical customers for the industry.
November 9, 2020 — The coronavirus has derailed face-to-face fish gatherings and forced them to online venues, and there’s a fishing industry dream of a lineup for this month. One perk of going virtual is that more people can tune in to all kinds of meetings, discussions and workshops, no matter where they call home.
Get the latest updates on nearly every Alaska fish in the sea at the popular All Hands on Deck virtual meetings set for Nov. 10-13 by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Each day will focus on marketing strategies and challenges for the fish and shellfish ASMI promotes in the U.S. and around the world.
“ASMI’s mission is to increase the economic value and awareness of the Alaska seafood resource and that’s a really big lift,” said Ashley Heimbigner, ASMI communications director. “And we couldn’t do it without the input and guidance and ‘on the ground’ information we get from all of our industry partners and stakeholders.”
The All Hands lineup features the latest industry economic indicators presented by the McDowell Group, including covid impacts around the world, trade disputes, and a roundtable forum with experts from the global seafood supply chain.
Every fish and shellfish species gets its own session, Heimbigner said.
November 9, 2020 — Bobby DeCosta only saw about half a dozen scalloping boats when he loaded his boat into the harbor on Nov. 3.It was the second day of the commercial scalloping season. There were about 40 boats scalloping last November.
It’s a dwindling fleet, DeCosta said. It’s also getting hit by COVID-19. With both island and off-island restaurants – which typically sell Nantucket bay scallops – shutting down for the season or for good, the income you can make selling scallops is on the decline.
“I hear guys say, ‘I’m not scalloping this year, I’m going to take a land job,’” said De-Costa, a commercial scalloper and former Select Board member. “If you didn’t grow up in the fishery, it’s a hard thing to get into.”
November 6, 2020 — Louisiana commercial fishermen and processors who have lost business because of the COVID-19 pandemic have until Nov. 23 to apply for a share of $14.6 million in federal aid.
The CARES Act, which Congress passed in March, provides $300 million to assist hard-hit fisheries across the U.S. Louisiana is receiving the eighth largest investment of those states and territories.
The original deadline to apply was Oct. 26. But hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta and their impact on Louisiana coastal areas prompted the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to extend the deadline.
“The department wants to ensure that everyone impacted by those hurricanes has ample opportunity to apply for the CARES Act relief funds,” Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet said in a news release. “This extension will provide those persons more time to devote to repairing and getting services to their homes and taking care of the immediate needs of their family.”
Stay-at-home orders and shutdowns states have ordered in an effort to slow the deadly virus’s spread have closed or slowed business at many restaurants and markets, wreaking havoc on the supply chain upon which fishermen usually rely.
November 6, 2020 — The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), a governing body of 25 member states and the European Union, missed an opportunity to establish a network of three marine protection areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean, according to conservation experts who attended the commission’s recent meeting.
Each year, the CCAMLR meets in Hobart, Tasmania, to discuss matters related to the management and protection of the Southern Ocean and its rich marine life. Conservationists hoped that this year’s meeting would address a proposition to form three new MPAs in East Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula, and the Weddell Sea, and that CCAMLR members would reach a consensus to bring these plans into fruition. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the commission met online instead of in-person during the last week of October, which didn’t provide ample time for proper negotiations and discussions, according to attendees. By the meeting’s end, the MPA proposals had not been approved.
Rodolfo Werner, a wildlife conservationist who attended the CCAMLR as an official observer and scientific representative of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), said this year’s meeting was “frustrating for several reasons.”
November 5, 2020 — If you work in Maine’s marine industry, this is the final week to apply for the CARES Act Fisheries Relief fund.
The Department of Marine Resources says it contacted eligible applicants last month by both mail and email, but wants to make sure anyone who can receive the aid is aware of the application process.
The federal funding relief is for licensed commercial fishermen, aquaculturists, seafood dealers and processors as well as for hire guides impacted by the pandemic this year.