Saving Seafood

MAINE: Shellfish direct sales

April 8, 2020 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources’ Bureau of Public Health published guidelines Monday for shellfish harvesters and growers selling directly to consumers. 

Bivalve shellfish are closely managed and monitored, even during a pandemic, because the state agency must continue to make sure the product is safe from biotoxins and other hazardous materials. 

Harvesters may sell directly from their homes — customers must pick up, no delivery — or directly from a standard aquaculture lease site (not a limited purpose lease site). 

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

LOUISIANA: Purchasing local seafood is as important, easy as ever Gov. Edwards says

April 8, 2020 — Governor John Bel Edwards recommended Louisiana residents use an online source to find local seafood to support fishermen in the state during the coronavirus crisis.

During the Tuesday afternoon COVID-19 conference, Gov. Edwards said local businesses need your support now more than ever.

“I encourage everyone who is going to go out and buying seafood, purchase seafood that was caught in Louisiana by Louisiana fishermen, or packaged here, or produced here,” Edwards said Tuesday afternoon.

“The state’s fishing industry is still reeling from last year, which was particularly tough with the multiple openings of the Bonnet Carre Spillway and the floodwaters that put too much freshwater in certain areas of the state,” Edwards said.

Louisiana Direct Seafood is a website now available to make finding fresh, local seafood easy for residents.

Read the full story at WBRZ

Salmon shutdown? Alaska city requests Bristol Bay fishery closure

April 8, 2020 — City officials in Dillingham, Alaska, have requested that the state consider closing the Bristol Bay salmon fishery to protect the region’s year-round residents from widespread infection of covid-19.

A letter to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy from Dillingham Mayor Alice Ruby and First Chief Thomas Tilden of the Curyung Tribal Council urges the governor to consider closing the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery to prevent an influx of workers to the region.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Saving Seafood Urges Industry to Comment on NOAA’s Emergency Rule Regarding Observer Waivers

April 8, 2020 — On March 27th, NOAA Fisheries published an Emergency Rule regarding the circumstances by which observer coverage would be waived.

In the opinion of a number of our Saving Seafood coalition members, the emergency rule does not provide sufficient protections to ensure the health and safety of the captains and crew of commercial fishing vessels.

The conditions proposed for the waivers leave an opportunity for continued observer coverage. Many of our members feel at this time a permanent waiver should be granted for 90 days. State and Federal entities have made it perfectly clear that serious precautions should be taken to control the spread of this virus.

Given the inherent nature of the fishing industry, close quarters on fishing vessels and the potential spread of the virus to entire crews, and their families, many of our members believe the cost is too great.

Please use the Federal Register notice to submit comments and share your personal experience and concerns.

In addition, the emergency rule indicates that some of the observer training and requirements may be waived to make sure there is sufficient personnel available to act as observers.

We encourage industry members to provide your own thoughts on that topic, as you have all had your own experience with the observers.

Comment on the emergency rule here

Pacific Council Approves Sardine Harvest Including More Data From Special Fishery for 2020

April 8, 2020 — In its first fully-virtual meeting to avoid spreading COVID-19, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council approved catch specifications for Pacific sardines, allowing for a special fishery that will inform future stock assessments. Pacific sardines have not had a commercial fishery for six years, based on a stock assessment showing low biomass and no recruitment that has been at the center of a years-long controversy.

“One thing everyone agrees on is the need to improve the sardine stock assessment,” stated Marc Gorelnik, vice chair of the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Read the full story at Seafood News

MASSACHUSETTS: Local fishermen use social media to sell directly to consumers

April 7, 2020 — With their normal markets shrinking amid the coronavirus outbreak, SouthCoast fishermen are coming up with creative ways to sell their catch directly to consumers.

Troy Durr created the Facebook group “SouthCoast Direct Source Seafood” on March 28, with the goal of connecting local boat captains with local residents who are willing to buy seafood directly from the source, according to a post on the page.

“A lot of the fish houses are not buying from the boats, which left them in a situation to stop working or figure out their own way to sell,” Durr said.

The new way to sell is directly off their boats.

Daniel McKiernan, acting director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, said they have expedited seafood dealer permitting by waving the $65 fee.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New Executive Order Delays Requirement for Maine Seafood Dealers, Processors to Renew Licenses

April 7, 2020 — Seafood dealers and processors in Maine are being provided with some temporary economic relief thanks to a new Executive Order issued by Governor Janet Mills last week. The new order delays the requirement for Maine seafood dealers and processors to renew their license.

According to a bulletin sent out by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, required fees for annual license renewals will be postponed for two months. This only applies to those who are renewing a license. Anyone who is applying for a license for the first time will be required to pay any applicable fees if they intend on operating on or after April 1, 2020.

Read the full story at Seafood News

NORTH CAROLINA: Outbreak, safety measures start to take toll on fishermen

April 7, 2020 — Local commercial fishermen and seafood businesses are persevering through the novel coronavirus outbreak, but restrictions and safety measures are starting to take their toll.

N.C. Fisheries Association President and commercial fisherman Glenn Skinner said Wednesday retail markets are still doing business with fishermen and seafood dealers; however, he said these markets are “a small percentage” of the normal markets for locally harvested seafood, so retail markets alone are “not enough to keep fishermen on the water.”

“I don’t have an estimate of the economic impacts in terms of dollars and cents,” Mr. Skinner said, “but I can tell you that 80 percent of domestic seafood goes through food service businesses, primarily restaurants. With the entire country shutting down restaurants, there is very little market for most of what N.C. fishermen produce.”

Mr. Skinner said there is seafood available for harvest and “literally tons of product” that’s been frozen.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

NOAA seeks pandemic input to plan for future

April 7, 2020 — It might be difficult to fathom while we reside in the belly of the beast, but information being compiled by NOAA on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the U.S. commercial seafood industry could improve the agency’s response in future natural disasters and economic crises.

NOAA said it has assembled a team of experts from a variety of disciplines throughout the agency — including economists and social scientists — to collect and analyze data on how the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 are impacting the U.S. commercial seafood industry, from harvesters straight up through the supply chain.

The agency is looking for stakeholders — both wild harvest and aquaculture — to relate their personal experiences from within the grip of the pandemic. Those stories, the agency said, could help frame NOAA’s future responses to disasters.

“We are interested in learning about the virus’s impacts on their employees, their business, the businesses they support and the broader supply chain,” NOAA said in the statement accompanying the announcement of the team’s formation. “Stakeholders interested in sharing information on the effects of COVID-19 on their businesses can submit that information to NMFS.COVID-19@noaa.gov.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Bristol Bay community leaders lay out minimum protocol needed to allow salmon season

April 7, 2020 — Leaders of several major community organizations in Bristol Bay have issued a list of minimum protocols they expect to be in place before the commercial salmon fishery can take place this summer.

Among other the protocol listed, fishermen and other seasonal workers would undergo a physical exam including a COVID-19 test with a negative result no more than 48 hours before traveling to the region. After arriving in Bristol Bay, the individuals would be transported to a quarantine location and remain in quarantine until a follow-up negative COVID-19 test is confirmed. The leaders listed out other expectations, including weekly health screenings, for the seafood industry to establish as minimum protocol for the 2020 season.

“We were hearing up until we came up with our own position statement for the lack of a better word, was that what everybody was advocating for was really based around quarantine – the 14 day quarantine period. That seemed to be what was going to fix everything and make us all comfortable. The reality is, our opinion is that it’s going to take multiple types of protocol, so we think that COVID-19 testing, in combination with quarantine gives us the lowest level of risk,” Norm Van Vactor, CEO of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation said. “There’s still some risk there, and at the end of the day, our communities are going to have to decide whether even that level of risk is acceptable.”

Read the full story at KTUU