Saving Seafood

Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program reduces staff

April 27, 2020 — The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program has “substantially” reduced its workforce through furloughs and layoffs, according to a 27 April press release from the aquarium.

The Seafood Watch program maintains a set of standards by which it ranks the environmental sustainability of the world’s fisheries. It also produces a consumer guide in which it ranks fisheries via a three-tiered system: Green, or “Best Choice” seafood, which has minimal adverse impacts on the environment; Yellow, or “Good Alternative” seafood, which are good options when “Best Choices” aren’t available; and Red, or seafood to “Avoid,” meaning the seafood is not sourced using environmentally responsible means.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Small-scale fishermen suffering significantly from COVID-19 pandemic

April 27, 2020 — The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the entire seafood industry. Demand for fresh seafood has plummeted as restaurants, hotels, and catering businesses shutter. And trade has faltered as transportation restrictions prevent supply chains from moving product.

But while businesses in the developed world can apply for social safety provisions and major seafood companies’ balance sheets give them a fighting chance to weather the storm, small-scale fishermen face severe risk. Especially in the developing world, where a day’s catch buys that night’s meal, fishermen’s prospects are bleak.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

As Economy Has Faltered, New Jersey’s Fishing Industry Gets Walloped

April 27, 2020 — From Delaware Bay oysters to Atlantic scallops, the state’s fisheries are struggling to survive as retail sales dry up.

In the town of Port Norris, on South Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore, the first weeks of spring have for well over a century marked the beginning of the annual oyster harvest, a time when the waters of the Maurice River burst to life with a commercial fleet eager for prosperous days ahead. But as the first few weeks of the season come to a close, Port Norris remains still, a sign of just how deep the COVID-19 pandemic has drilled into the state’s economy.

“It’s brought things to a halt,” said Steve Fleetwood, president of Bivalve Packing, South Jersey’s largest wild-caught oyster processor. Already, Fleetwood has had to lay off some of his roughly 20 employees, who, in a rural community as small as Port Norris, are friends and neighbors. “I hate to see people without jobs,” he continued. “Hopefully we can suck it up and wait it out.”

Read the full story at the New Jersey Spotlight

Coronavirus halts nation’s largest purchase of offshore wind

April 27, 2020 — The state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) authorised the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda) to issue a new offshore wind solicitation for at least 1GW and up to 2.5GW.

The energy regulator has planned to issue the tender – which would be the US’ largest offshore wind auction to date – this summer, according to a petition filed with the PSC.

However, Nyserda has suspended its plans to hold the auction round indefinitely as government agencies prioritise New York’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

New York has recorded the highest number of cases and casualties in the US, according to statistics company Worldometer.

Read the full story at Wind Power Monthly

Reps. Pallone, Kim Lead Delegation Demand for Fair and Quick Distribution of Assistance to Fishing Communities

April 27, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Andy Kim (D-NJ):

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) demanded that the Trump Administration fairly and quickly distribute financial aid to the fishing industries in states like New Jersey that have incurred greater economic losses as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought requested the agencies distribute the financial assistance based on state-specific economic impacts of the pandemic. It was also signed by Senator Bob Menendez, Senator Cory Booker, Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Congressman Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Congressman Albio Sires (NJ-08), Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01),  Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Congressman Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), and Congressman Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02). Last month, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which allocated $300 million in fisheries assistance.

“The commercial and recreational fishing industry in our home state of New Jersey has felt the devastating economic impacts of the pandemic. The Trump Administration must swiftly make this financial assistance available to fishing communities and allocate it in a way that equitably accounts for the severe economic losses the hardest hit states have endured,” the letter states. “While many states with lower numbers of COVID-19 cases kept their commercial and recreational fisheries open or have already completed their most important fishing seasons of the year, the pandemic has left our fishing industry in dire financial straits.”

New Jersey’s commercial fishing industry generates over $8 billion annually supporting over 50,000 jobs and has one of the largest saltwater recreational fishing industries in the United States.

The letter is available here.

MASSACHUSETTS: Blue Harvest Responds to COVID-19 Situation; Plans to Reopen Monday

April 24, 2020 — In an interview with SeafoodSource, Blue Harvest President and CEO Keith Decker said the first employee tested positive on 14 April, having gone on medical leave on 3 April. A second employee tested positive 20 April in what Decker called an unrelated case. A third case is suspected but not confirmed, Decker said.

In response, Blue Harvest “immediately notified the city and Board of Health proactively,” Decker said.

“We have been in close contact throughout the week, and it’s standard protocol to notify the board of health if you have a positive diagnosis,” he said.

Blue Harvest had already arranged for a third-party contractor to sanitize the facility prior to the issuance of a cease and desist letter, and that cleaning took place Thursday, 23 April. The plant is scheduled to reopen on Monday, 27 April, Decker said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

DOUG VINCENT-LANG: Alaska has plans to manage this year’s fisheries

April 24, 2020 — Alaska’s fisheries are world-renowned. They feed Alaskans through subsistence, sport and personal use fishing. Our commercial fisheries feed the world, and our charter and guide industries provide much-needed fishing access to both Alaskans and our guests. All contribute greatly to our state and local economies.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has touched us all and impacted our daily lives in many ways. From hunkering down in our homes, to school closures, to lost jobs and income, to not being able to join friends at the local watering hole, these are trying times.

Trying to find the right balance to protect public health while ensuring we do not destroy the economic foundation of our state is challenging. Our knowledge of the virus is rapidly growing, and as we learn more, our strategies for addressing the pandemic are evolving. This flux is understandably causing uncertainty and uneasiness as we gradually move back to normalcy and a reopening of our economy.

In this light, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is preparing to prosecute fisheries this summer as close to normally as possible. We have plans in place to deploy the necessary research and management infrastructure to allow us to manage the state’s fisheries and we are developing implementation plans to protect the health of our employees, the health of fishery participants and the health of the communities where fishing takes place.

Read the full opinion piece at the Anchorage Daily News

Fishing groups have “Day of Action” to help fishermen access COVID-19 aid

April 24, 2020 — On Friday, 24 April, as U.S. President Donald Trump signed an extension of small business COVID-19 relief programs into law, a national group of independent fishermen set aside the day to make sure they and their colleagues had access to the programs designed to keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic.

It comes a day after the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and others held a webinar for fishermen and crew members on the packages available to them.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Dunleavy eases in-state travel restrictions, issues health mandate on commercial fishing vessels

April 24, 2020 — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy Thursday eased restrictions on intrastate travel and released a new health mandate aimed at the commercial fishing industry in the battle against the novel coronavirus.

Dunleavy eased the rules first laid out in Health Mandate 12, which restricted non-essential intrastate travel. Alaskans are now allowed to travel within the state, on the road system, for outdoor recreation.

Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum said Alaskans may recreate outdoors on day trips as long as no more than 20 people are in a group. Alaskans still need to keep their distance from recreation companions that are not a part of their household.

While state campgrounds are closed, Gov. Dunleavy said private campgrounds and RV parks are allowed to operate.

“We hope you go camping. We want you to go and visit this state.,” Dunleavy said. “And unfortunately for us because of this pandemic, we might not get a lot of visitors to the state of Alaska. That could be a silver lining in that you Alaskans get to own Alaska this year, and this could be the opportunity to see see parts of Alaska that you’ve never experienced before.”

Read the full story at KTUU

Maine fishermen seek relief, new markets to navigate ‘economic disaster’

April 24, 2020 — With many restaurants shuttered, and typical export pipelines closed, demand for lobster and other Maine seafood is way down, leaving Maine’s $674 million-a-year commercial fishing industry scrambling to find new markets and short-term economic relief to survive the pandemic.

“It appears that we have a long road ahead,” Patrice McCarron, the director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said in the group’s latest newsletter. “While the timeline for the coronavirus and its corresponding economic disaster are unknown, we must prepare for long-term impacts.”

The pandemic has forced the closure of almost one out of three restaurants, according to the latest reports. The restaurant industry, along with food service, consumes about 80 percent of U.S. seafood. It’s worse for lobster, a luxury item, which counts casinos and cruise ships among its biggest customers.

This comes on the heels of the $485 million-a-year Maine lobster industry’s struggle to replace the market it lost in the trade war with China, which had accounted for 1 out of every 3 pounds of lobsters exported overseas, and Canada’s sweet trade deal with the European Union.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald