Saving Seafood

$50 million in fishing, shellfish industry assistance funds secured

May 13, 2020 — A $50 million support package is in place for Washington’s non-tribal fishing and shellfish industries, members of the state’s congressional delegation announced last week.

“Thousands of fishermen around the Pacific Northwest are feeling the impacts of restaurant, fishing, and tourism season closures due to covid-19 and the loss of seafood sales. Due to the unique nature of fishing businesses, many have been left without federal assistance until now,” U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said in a press release. “Having $50 million coming to Washington state fishermen in grants and other direct assistance will provide much-needed money to fishing businesses to keep them a part of our maritime economy.”

The funding comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for states, tribes and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by covid.

“The outbreak of covid-19 has put an incredible strain on Southwest Washington businesses, causing severe economic losses for our coastal fishing and shellfish industries,” U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler said. “I was pleased to help secure this funding for our coastal fishermen and shellfish growers to provide a level of certainty that will help them tread water until their businesses are back up and running.”

Read the full story at the Chinook Observer

Will Trump’s executive order expanding fishing help the seafood industry catch needed profits?

May 13, 2020 — The coronavirus pandemic has decimated the seafood industry in the U.S. ​Following the widespread closure of restaurants and food service locations, many of the country’s fisheries have reported sales dropping as much as 95%. Thousands of commercial fishers are at risk of bankruptcy, The Washington Post reported.

Shortly after sales started to plummet, seafood companies — including Trident, Pacific Seafoods, High Liner, Cargill and Fortune International — wrote a letter to the Trump administration to ask for financial support. Although the industry anticipated the need for billions of dollars, the government only approved an aid package for $300 million at first.

Now the government is offering additional support with another $300 million in financial aid, as well as an attempt to bolster domestic production. Currently, domestic aquaculture production is either done on land or in state-controlled waters and is only a small portion of U.S. seafood. Aquaculture accounted for 20% of the country’s seafood production in 2016, according to NPR. The outlet reported that U.S. production is dwarfed by imports, which account for 90% of the country’s seafood consumption.

Read the full story at Grocery Dive

Department of Homeland Security Offers Flexibilities to Increase Food Security, Stabilize U.S. Supply Chain During COVID-19

May 13, 2020 — The following was released by the Department of Homeland Security:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a temporary final rule to change certain H-2B requirements to help support the U.S. food supply chain, maintain essential infrastructure operations and reduce the impact from the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency.

These temporary measures apply solely to aliens already present in the United States with a valid H-2B nonimmigrant status, and the temporary final rule does not increase H-2B visas above the congressionally mandated 66,000 visa cap through the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2020.

“These necessary flexibilities will safeguard a critical U.S. infrastructure sector; reinforce security of the nation’s food supply chain; and encourage key American businesses to maintain essential operations currently threatened by the COVID-19 public health emergency,” said USCIS Deputy Director for Policy, Joseph Edlow. “Importantly, these measures protect U.S. workers by not adding supplemental H-2B visas during the national emergency.”

Under this temporary final rule, a petitioner will have additional flexibilities for employing workers essential to the U.S. food supply chain. To take advantage of this time-limited change in regulatory requirements, the H-2B worker must already be in the United States and in valid H2B status.

As part of the TLC process, the petitioning employer must have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Labor that there is not a sufficient supply of qualified U.S. workers who will be available at the time and place needed to perform the labor or services involved in the petition. The employment of the alien(s) in such labor or services will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed.

There are two flexibilities in the temporary final rule. First, the rule allows an H-2B employer to employ an H-2B nonimmigrant physically present in the United States while the employer’s H-2B petition on behalf of that nonimmigrant is still pending before USCIS. The rule only provides this flexibility if the employer attests that the worker will perform temporary services or labor that is essential to the U.S. food supply chain. The temporary employment authorization will last for up to 60 days. Second, the rule allows H-2B workers essential to the U.S. food supply chain to stay beyond the three-year maximum allowable period of stay in the United States. This flexibility applies to petitions filed by the H-2B nonimmigrant’s current employer, as well as petitions filed by a potential new employer. The rule only provides this flexibility if the employer attests that the worker will perform temporary services or labor that is essential to the U.S. food supply chain. It is not acceptable for employers to hire illegal aliens.

A petitioner seeking the flexibilities under this temporary final rule will be required to submit an attestation, swearing under penalty of perjury, that the H-2B worker(s) will be performing temporary nonagricultural services or labor or that is essential to the U.S. food supply chain.

The temporary final rule is effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.

DHS previously announced similar protections for American agricultural employers in order to secure the nation’s food supply chain. The H-2B nonimmigrant classification applies to alien workers seeking to perform nonagricultural services or labor of a temporary nature in the United States, usually lasting no longer than one year, for which able, willing and qualified U.S. workers are not available.

NEW YORK: Montauk Fishermen Launch New Dock to Dish Seafood Delivery Program

May 13, 2020 — Montauk’s fishermen have launched a historic and innovative new initiative to deliver fresh, New York State-certified seafood straight from their boats to local residents’ doorsteps. The effort, called Dock to Dish 3.0, comes just in time, as restaurant closures and stay-at-home orders have hurt traditional distribution channels and put perishable catches in danger.

Dock to Dish 3.0 is now operating locally as a pilot program for Montauk area residents, offering no-contact subscriptions via an e-commerce platform, with deliveries eventually expanding in June to reach more than 1,000 customers around Long Island and the NY Metropolitan Area each week. More than 500 people have already joined a waiting lists for memberships.

Designed to replace recently crippled and collapsed supply lines, and bring safety and balance to unpredictable market conditions that have arisen during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this new system creates a distribution channel between Montauk’s commercial fishing fleet and NY consumers. The Long Island Commercial Fishing Association and United Parcel Service (UPS) have stepped up as partners to facilitate the subscription program, which will allow more than two dozen Long Island fishermen to ship New York State-certified fish fillets and sea scallops to members.

Read the full story at Dan’s Papers

MAINE: Elver price plummets; lobster industry seeks help

May 13, 2020 — Earning a living as a fisherman is tough in the best of times. Right now, times are bad and Maine fishermen have to hope they don’t get any worse.

Last year, according to the Department of Marine Resources, Maine harvesters landed 9,620 pounds of elvers — juvenile eels — and dealers paid $20,119,194 for the catch, an average price of $2,091 per pound for the fishermen.

Things are markedly different in this year of the coronavirus pandemic.

DMR reported that, as of 6 p.m. Sunday, just 42 days into an already shortened fishing season, licensed dealers had already reported buying a total of about 9,353 pounds of elvers for a total of $4,877,240, an average price of $521 per pound, a $1,570 drop from last year in the price paid to elver harvesters.

While the season still has slightly more than three weeks left, only 267 pounds of the state’s annual elver quota established by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission remains unharvested. Of that total, no more than 99 pounds is available to harvesters licensed by DMR. At least 138 pounds of the unharvested quota is allocated among fishermen licensed by the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians or the government of the Penobscot Nation.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

FLORIDA: Funding process for Keys fishermen slowly unfolds

May 13, 2020 — Both commercial and for-hire fishermen in the Florida Keys hit hard by the economic shutdown spurred by the novel coronavirus may apply to receive a portion of $23.6 million allocated to the state through the CARES Act Stimulus.

Of the $300 million slugged for federal fisheries’ assistance, Florida is to receive about 12.7%, or the fourth largest share behind Alaska, Washington and Massachusetts.

While Capt. Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, says the Keys fisheries have been slighted, he remains optimistic about the upcoming lobster season.

“This pales in comparison to what was made available to the agriculture and livestock industries, but this is what we have to work with,” he said Monday. “We have a lot to be concerned over. It was the importance of the Keys fishermen that helped us out [in Monroe] of the 2008 recession fairly well. We could have the same rebound if we, in fact, maintain a strong fishery. We export 80% of live lobster to China, and when that fishery reopens on Aug. 6, we don’t know what the market in China will be. We’re hoping for a strong market.”

NOAA will administer the funds through the interstate marine fisheries arms. For here, that’s the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which will, in turn, contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to identify and establish a plan for fishermen to apply for funds.

Read the full story at Florida Keys News

NORTH CAROLINA: Walking Fish keeps seafood moving inland despite outbreak

May 13, 2020 — While the novel coronavirus outbreak has closed many dine-in restaurants, a local community-supported fishery is still providing a link between commercial fishermen and their inland customers.

Walking Fish is a community-supported fishery based in Beaufort. This type of fishery is based on the community-supported agriculture model in which members of the fishery purchases shares of seafood caught by participating commercial fishermen. The seafood is then delivered to the fishery’s members. In Walking Fish’s case, the seafood is delivered on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, depending on the type of membership.

Walking Fish coordinator Debra Callaway said May 6 that even with restrictions and Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order requiring social distancing, Walking Fish has continued to make its regular deliveries to pickup locations in Raleigh and Durham Thursday afternoons.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

Herring fishermen challenge monitoring requirements, as study shows promise of Alaska’s fishery

May 13, 2020 — Although there was no commercial herring sac roe fishery this year in Sitka Sound due to small average fish size, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game report has provided encouraging data for the fishery to consider an eventual reopening.

Some 83 percent of this year’s guideline harvest level was forecast to be age-four herring, with an average weight of 92 grams. The size forecast for herring across all age classes was slightly larger, at 97 grams.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Homeland Security keeps H-2B cap at 66,000, leaving seafood processors facing uncertain future

May 13, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will not increase the cap on H-2B visas for the 2020 fiscal year, but the agency is implementing a new rule it said will give food processors more flexibility to help them during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rule, scheduled to be published Thursday, 14 May, will allow companies to hire current visa holders already in the country for work, according to a statement posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services site.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Scallop sales following seafood trend: Big drop in foodservice, but surge in retail

May 13, 2020 — The scallop market in the U.S. has largely mirrored the trends seen in virtually every other seafood category, according to information shared by Bristol Seafood.

The information came via an industry webinar the company hosted in order to provide an update on how scallops have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bristol regularly releases a “factbook” covering what to expect in the coming year, but the pandemic had understandably rendered a portion of that information obsolete.

Read the full story at Seafood Source