July 22, 2020 — Distributors of seafood and other fresh foods praised new legislation that could help them recoup some of the billions of dollars in debt they are owed due to COVID-19 restaurant shutdowns.
U.S. Representatives Darin LaHood (R-Illinois) and Jimmy Panetta (D-California) introduced the Providing Liquidity for Uncollectible Sales (PLUS) Act on 21 July.
July 22, 2020 — Maine lobster businesses, both large and small, received emergency funding through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program to help them survive the economic crisis wrought by the coronavirus’ global spread this spring.
The lobstering sector was the top recipient in Maine of forgivable PPP loans of less than USD 150,000 (EUR 130,000), with around USD 14.9 million (EUR 12.9 million) offered to 1,358 Maine lobstermen, according to the Portland Press Herald. But the average loan to lobster fishermen was USD 10,900 (EUR 9,400) each, a total that won’t help many survive the season if low dock prices and weak export markets continue, according to Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.
July 21, 2020 — More than two-thirds of the crew of a huge factory fishing vessel docked in the Aleutian fishing port of Dutch Harbor has tested positive for COVID-19, local authorities announced Sunday.
The 85 cases are on board the American Triumph, owned by Seattle-based American Seafoods — one of the biggest players in the billion-dollar Bering Sea pollock fishery.
The Triumph arrived in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor on Thursday, with seven crew members reporting symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
All seven were tested for the virus upon arrival, and six of those tests came back positive, officials announced Friday. That prompted staff from Unalaska’s clinic, Iliuliuk Family and Health Services, to test the remaining 112 crew.
All crew members were restricted to either the vessel or their isolation locations while in Unalaska, city officials said.
July 21, 2020 — When humpback whales migrated to Glacier Bay in Alaska this year to spend the long summer days feeding, they arrived to something unusual: quieter waters.
As the COVID-19 pandemic slows international shipping and keeps cruise ships docked, scientists are finding measurably less noise in the ocean. That could provide momentary relief for whales and other marine mammals that are highly sensitive to noise.
Through networks of underwater hydrophones, scientists are hoping to learn how the mammals’ communication changes when the drone of ships is turned down, potentially informing new policies to protect them.
“More needs to be done,” says Jason Gedamke, who manages the ocean acoustics program at NOAA Fisheries. “When you have animals that for millions of years have been able to communicate over vast distances in the ocean, and then once we introduce noise and have increased sound levels and they can’t communicate over those distances, clearly there’s going to be some impact there.”
July 21, 2020 — West Coast trawlers and fishing industry leaders looking to minimize the risk of exposure to the coronavirus are asking for an emergency waiver from a requirement to carry human observers.
The National Marine Fisheries Service provided a two-week waiver from observer coverage in the spring. Chris Oliver, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, clarified in a message posted Thursday that waivers remain available on a vessel-by-vessel basis.
According to a spokesman, the federal agency has issued some individual vessel waivers for trips in the past three months — all were for times when observers were not available, not for other reasons, such as a vessel operator’s concerns about the coronavirus.
Industry representatives argue that further steps are needed as the threat of the pandemic continues and case numbers rise.
July 21, 2020 — As the number of nations that have been able to successfully manage the COVID-19 pandemic increases, positioning seafood items like pollock as a value proposition will become increasingly important, according to the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP).
That perspective was shared earlier this month during GAPP’s fitfth webinar in its summer series. The webinar – titled “COVID-19 Consumer Insights: A Look Forward” – was hosted by Bill Romania and Sharon Ripps of R3 Consulting, and addressed the COVID-19 situation and its impact on consumer spending habits.
July 20, 2020 — Free mobile testing for COVID-19 is popping up all across the Whaling City.
Southcoast Health started the trend back in May when it partnered with the city and The Port of New Bedford to offer testing for commercial fishermen on the waterfront.
On Thursday, thanks to funding from wind energy developers, the program was able to relaunch and will continue for several weeks, according to Southcoast Health Public Information Officer Shawn Badgley.
The Port of New Bedford is scheduling the testing appointments for fishermen and Executive Director Edward Anthes-Washburn called the testing wonderful.
Anthes-Washburn said there is no real social distancing on a fishing vessel because you cannot operate safely without having the crew within six feet of each other.
“This testing will allow fishing crews peace of mind during a pandemic so they can focus on what they do best — safely harvesting and landing sustainable fish for consumers around the world,” Anthes-Washburn said.
July 20, 2020 — Newport fisherman Jon Kourtesis’s days are even longer now, thanks to a change in state regulations that allows him to sell fish directly to consumers.
But he’s OK with it, for the most part.
In the spring, when the state closed restaurants to stop the spread of the coronavirus, fishermen were hit hard. Prices dropped dramatically. In some cases, wholesalers stopped buying, and fishermen had no place to sell their catch.
To help fishermen navigate this storm, the state temporarily changed some regulations to allow them to peddle their catches directly to consumers, fish markets and restaurants, instead of selling exclusively to wholesalers.
“I think it’s a great idea, and I’m glad they came up with it,” Kourtesis says.
It’s opened a new market for Kourtesis, but it comes with a catch. He says he’s working 15- to 16-hour days to make “a few hundred extra bucks.”
“It’s like three jobs for me,” he says.
Through an emergency regulation on April 17, the state created a direct-sale dealer license for Rhode Island fishermen. It authorizes commercial fishermen in Rhode Island to sell certain species of finfish, and to sell and transport for sale live lobsters and crabs, directly to consumers and licensed seafood retailers from the vessel on which they were harvested.
July 20, 2020 — A California Congressman and National Marine Fisheries Service leaders released statements about pandemic-related issues and COVID-19’s effects on fisheries Thursday, but from opposite perspectives.
Following industry criticism about maintaining at-sea observers and shoreside catch monitors during a pandemic, the agency has allowed observer waivers in some areas but remained steadfast in keeping observer coverage in others. The risk of contagion is too great, fishermen and processors say, but NMFS has disagreed — at least, in some areas.
July 20, 2020 — Maine lobstermen reeled in more small federal emergency loans under the Paycheck Protection Program than members of any other industry in Maine, with about one out of every three commercial lobstermen landing one, but the average loan was barely large enough to cover a month’s worth of bait at the height of the summer fishing season.
About $14.9 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, loans of less than $150,000 have been handed out to 1,358 Maine lobstermen, according to an analysis of newly released U.S. Small Business Administration data. That puts lobstermen ahead of full-service restaurants, real estate offices, beauty salons and home builders, which rounded out the top five Maine industries receiving small PPP loans.
But the high participation rate didn’t net Maine lobstermen a lot of money, with the average small PPP loan to lobster fishermen working out to be just $10,900 each, data show. By comparison, full-service restaurants got $53,500. Home builders, $30,000. It didn’t get better when the loans got bigger: Only two lobstering companies got large loans of more than $150,000.
“A lot of people got very small loans that helped in the short term, at the start of the crisis, but now the crisis is dragging on and lobstering season hasn’t even really started,” said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. “Ten grand is nice if you’re struggling, but not enough if you’re suffering.”