Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Bristol Bay fishermen urged to delay travel as communities, industry formulate COVID-19 plan

March 27, 2020 — This summer 48.95 million sockeye salmon are forecast to run in Bristol Bay, but with the coronavirus pandemic rapidly expanding in the United States, non-local fishermen are urged to delay traveling to the region while processors, local government leaders and other stakeholders work to formulate a plan to prosecute the fishery in the wake of COVID-19.

On Thursday, the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, which represents the Bristol Bay drift gillnet fleet, issued its first COVID-19 advisory to the fleet asking that non-local Bristol Bay Fishermen delay travel to the region until at least May 1 and listed the state mandated quarantine protocol for anyone who does travel to Alaska from out of state.

“You do NOT want to be the outsider photographed or seen around town in public spaces if this situation turns for the worst. Such actions could quite literally jeopardize your business, your fishing career, and even personal health. Do not risk it, and make sure your crew does not place your business at risk either,” the BBRSDA advisory said.

Read the full story at KTUU

COVID-19 Relief Bill Provides $300M For U.S. Fisheries Participants

March 27, 2020 — The United States Senate voted 96-0 on March 25 to pass a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package. The bill will now head to the House of Representatives, who are set to vote on the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, HR 748 bill on Friday.

This will mark the largest economic stimulus package in the history of the country and it includes $500 billion in funding for various U.S. industries including $4 billion to cargo carriers, which helps the seafood industry in moving product in and out of the country. Many Americans will also receive $1,200 in relief (Find the full bill here).

Read the full story at Seafood News

Chesapeake seafood industry suffers as coronavirus closes restaurants

March 27, 2020 — The Chesapeake Bay’s seafood industry has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, as buyers dry up for oysters and prices plummet for fish and crabs.

Watermen say they’ve given up on the final weeks of the oyster season, as restaurant and raw bar closures have deprived them of lucrative markets for their catch.

“It’s very drastic,” said Robert T. Brown Sr., president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association. “I’ve seen things bad, but I’ve never seen them like this before.”

Oyster farmers say they’re idled for the same reason, though some are trying to eke out some direct sales to consumers. Ted Cooney, founder of Madhouse Oysters on Hooper’s Island on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, said sales suddenly stopped at a time when they’re usually selling 100 or more boxes of bivalves every week.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Maine’s elver fishery to reopen with more safety protocols to limit spread of COVID-19

March 27, 2020 — Maine’s elver fishing season is back on.

The Department of Marine Resources made the announcement Thursday night that fishermen could cast their nets next Monday, starting at 8 in the morning.

The department initially shut down the season Sunday – for a minimum of two weeks.

But, now officials have put some safety protocols into place to open up sooner.

Licensed elver harvesters may fish for and sell the quota of another licensed harvester.

Read the full story at WABI

Commercial Fishermen Struggle To Survive In The Face Of Coronavirus

March 27, 2020 — Commercial fishermen in the U.S. who have already faced challenges in recent years to make it in an increasingly globalized and regulated industry, are now struggling to find customers during the coronavirus crisis.

“This is totally unprecedented. This is the biggest crisis to hit the fishing industry ever, no question about that,” Noah Oppenheim, executive director of The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations told NPR in a phone interview. The federation is a trade association representing commercial fishermen along the West Coast.

On Tuesday, seafood industry leaders, processors and fishermen sent a letter to House and Senate leaders requesting $4 billion in aid for the industry.

The closings of restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic has hit commercial fishermen particularly hard.

Read the full story at NPR

Coronavirus strains preparations for 2020 sockeye season in Bristol Bay, Alaska

March 27, 2020 — Alaska issued a mandate late on Monday, 24 March, qualifying the state’s commercial fishing industry as “critical infrastructure,” a move that frees up the Bristol Bay fishery to move forward with preparations for the 2020 season.

But uncertainty looms as the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery discusses how it might bring nearly 12,000 non-resident workers into remote western Alaska amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

House passes COVID stimulus bill, Trump expected to sign soon

March 27, 2020 — The U.S. House of Representatives followed the U.S. Senate’s lead on Friday, 27 March, and passed the USD 2 trillion (EUR 1.81 trillion) Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (or CARES) Act, a stimulus package that includes hundreds of millions of dollars in aid earmarked for the seafood industry.

U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated he will sign the bill as soon as today.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MSC extends assessment timeline amid COVID-19 outbreak

March 27, 2020 — For the first time in the Marine Stewardship Council’s history, the organization is offering a six-month extension on the usual timeline for all assessments and certifications in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The board of trustees for the MSC unanimously decided on 27 March to extend the deadlines as the impacts of the pandemic continue to affect the industry. The extension applies to all audits and the delivery of conditions that may have been required for certification.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

HAWAII: Fish prices plummet as coronavirus pandemic cripples industry and idles boats

March 27, 2020 — As the coronavirus pandemic ripples through Hawaii’s economy, the state’s fishing industry is taking a severe hit.

But the downturn has provided consumers with an unexpected benefit: Lower fish prices.

Since the city and state banned sit-down services at restaurants, fishing boats have been idle on the docks as the wholesale price of ahi and salmon has plunged from about $4 a pound to as little at 20 cents a pound.

Many of the boats won’t go back out because the price for fish won’t even pay for fuel costs.

“We’re sitting side-tied waiting for about a four or five day wait to offload. I have 12,000 pounds of fish right now,” said Mike Wild, captain of the longline vessel the Kilauea.

“It’s going to hurt all the owners in their pockets and it’s hurting the crews. It might put a few guys out of business.”

Skip Gallimore, who owns three fishing boats, thinks the pandemic’s impact on the fishing industry is even more severe. “It’s a shame. I don’t think anyone has realized what’s happened to our fishing industry. It’s gone.”

Read the full story at Hawaii News Now

NEW YORK: Fishermen See Market Dry Out

March 27, 2020 — Unable to sell a 1,000-pound catch of fluke last week, Capt. Chuck Morici of the dragger Act 1 spent three days filleting the fish at Montauk commercial dock and offering it for free straight from his boat. On Saturday morning, he gave it away from the back of his pickup truck in downtown Montauk, a big handwritten sign announcing, “Free Fish.”

In a normal year, the religious period of Lent, when many people give up eating meat, tends to drive up seafood demand and prices. But the global COVID-19 pandemic has thrown normal to the wind.

In addition to the closure of most domestic restaurants, foreign markets such as Spain and Italy, which before the pandemic were historically large buyers of squid landed on the East End, for example, have stopped all imports. As a result, many fish buyers have implored fishermen to stay ashore.

Prices have fallen dramatically, said Bonnie Brady of Montauk, the executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. “Everyone is frustrated that the buyers are not buying fish, but at the same time the restaurant market has dried up, and New York has always been beholden to the fresh fish market because we haven’t had processing to help us.”

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star