Saving Seafood

Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America New Dates Announced

April 6, 2020 — The following was released by Seafood Expo North America:

Today, Diversified Communications, organizer of the annual Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, announced the new dates for its 2020 event. The expo will take place at the Boston Exhibition and Convention Center this September 2020, with an exhibit hall open on September 23rd and 24th, and a conference program that will start on September 22nd.

In the last few months and weeks, the seafood industry and community, along with the rest of the world, have been experiencing some of the most tumultuous, emotionally and economically challenging times. “While navigating this unprecedented situation, we know there is a need for business continuity and are committed to providing a platform that will bring back together the industry suppliers and buyers who, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, were prevented from meeting in March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Liz Plizga, Group Vice President, Diversified Communications.

The September dates were carefully chosen in consideration of the recent escalating situation with COVID-19, the venue availability, as well as feedback from customers and high-volume retail and foodservice Key Buyers from North America.

“It is fair to say that this year’s event will not be like any other years,” added Plizga. “However, the Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America team is dedicated to delivering a high-quality event and services that are as similar as possible to what our customers have come to expect over the years.”

The September edition will feature a solutions-driven conference program led by industry experts covering today’s most relevant topics. The exhibit hall, which will be held in Halls B and C, will highlight special programs like the New and Featured Product Showcases where buyers can identify the latest seafood product, equipment and services, innovations and trends.

In the coming weeks, Diversified Communications and its official partners, will reach out to exhibitors, buyers and other seafood professionals to provide further details about the September event. New information will be included at seafoodexpo.com/north-america.

The 2021 event is scheduled during the same time frame as in past years: March 14-16, 2021.

Read the full release here

Keating Pushes USDA to Buy American Seafood Under CARES Act

April 6, 2020 — U.S. Rep. William Keating, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Massachusetts, joined some of his Capitol Hill colleagues today in urging the USDA to include U.S. seafood companies in a $9.5 billion program designed to help farmers affected by the coronavirus.

Keating, Rep. Seth Moulton, and Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and said the federal government should take steps to buy American seafood through the CARES Act agricultural assistance program.

“The pandemic-driven closure of restaurants and other businesses has devastated the New England seafood industry, as about two-thirds of seafood is consumed in restaurants and outside the home. Fishermen and processors that supply restaurants and local food systems need support,” the letter reads.

Read the full story at WBSM

With restaurants closed, New England fishing industry grinds to a halt

April 6, 2020 — Over the past few months, Tim Linnell has spent countless hours and thousands of dollars installing dredges and other expensive equipment on his steel dragger, preparing with hundreds of other fishermen across the region for the upcoming season.

Then the market for his catch cratered, like so many other businesses in recent weeks.

Now, the 52-year-old fisherman — saddled with mortgages on his two boats, hefty docking fees, and a host of other expenses — has nowhere to sell the mussels he would have caught.

“This is just going to be an economic disaster for us,” said Linnell, who has been fishing from Chatham for 30 years and whose three sons, fishermen all, face similar pressures. “I’ll probably be put out of business soon.”

With restaurants throughout the world closed due to the coronavirus, the region’s lobstermen, scallopers, and others who land much of the nation’s $5.6 billion commercial catch are facing economic devastation, with many forced to tie up or store their boats in dry dock until the market rebounds.

“No market equals no fishing,” said John Pappalardo, chief executive of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. “Markets are disintegrating daily.”

In a recent letter to President Trump and congressional leaders, representatives of the commercial fishing industry said the closure of much of the nation’s economy has put tens of thousands of jobs in jeopardy, including those who process, package, distribute, and cook fish.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

MASSACHUSETTS: Cape fishermen navigating stormy seas

April 3, 2020 — Late last week Zack Dixon, co-owner of Holbrook Oyster, in Wellfleet, was spending his time filling out a small business loan application and fielding phone and text orders for what he hopes will be a successful new undertaking.

Everything had come “screeching” to a halt on March 15, when Gov. Charlie Baker said restaurants could only do take-out.

“That’s not a figure of speech,” said Dixon. “Sales went to zero. I had deliveries set up for the next day and they were like, ‘No’.”

Restaurants, no longer allowed to serve patrons inside, are taking a beating from the Covid-19 pandemic, and businesses like Holbrook, which has grown oysters since 1995, are heavily dependent on people eating out.

Holbrook, started by the Dalby brothers, who are sixth generation Wellfleetians, quickly switched to a new model, mainly to keep as many people working as they could and to spread some community cheer in the form of the nutritious bivalve.

With the new model, people place an order and Holbrook delivers, anywhere from Provincetown to Orleans free of charge, farther for a small fee. (If you’re interested in this service, call 774-722-1788 or email zack@holbrookoyster.com)

Read the full story at Wicked Local

NFI Statement on the Rescheduling of Seafood Expo North America

April 3, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

During a time of such upheaval and uncertainty for all it is exciting that the forward-looking planners at Diversified rescheduled Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America for September 22-24, 2020 in Boston.

There is an old adage that action cures anxiety.  In these anxious times a date-certain allows the global seafood community to begin planning for a new and exciting Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America 2020 where we will all reconnect and look toward the future of seafood sales.  NFI looks forward to working with Diversified to provide a unique opportunity for NFI members and the broader seafood community to plan collaboratively for the future. 
 
We look forward to seeing our members and friends exhibiting in Boston. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy.

September dates announced for Seafood Expo North America

April 2, 2020 — New dates have been selected for Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, the continent’s largest seafood industry exhibition.

The 2020 event will comprise an exhibit hall open 23 and 24 September at its regular home in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A, and a conference program that will begin on 22 September.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood suppliers, traders forced to adapt quickly to shifting demand

April 2, 2020 — Facing a marketplace that has been drastically changed in the span of less than two months by the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. seafood suppliers, distributors, restaurants, and wholesalers are adapting by switching up their sales methods.

A number of larger seafood companies have moved further into retail sales. Others are urging greater industry collaboration and a joint “Buy American” marketing effort. On the more local level, small- to medium-sized seafood suppliers have shifted to a much more significant online presence, offering to ship orders directly to Americans’ homes. Online marketing data group eMarketer projects direct-to-consumer (D2C) ecommerce sales to surge 24.3 percent to USD 17.8 billion (EUR 16.3 billion) in 2020.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: Scallop Industry Kicks Off Season On Uncertain Terms Amid COVID-19 Crisis

April 2, 2020 — The scallop industry has been growing steadily over the last few years, valued at over $500 million. But the coronavirus spread has brought it to a halt, mostly because restaurants are no longer buying.

New Bedford scallop fisherman Eric Hansen says there’s usually an influx of landings when the season starts but the coronavirus spread has changed everything.

“I’m questioning myself whether I’m going to make a trip or wait to see if maybe there are restaurants open and a demand starts again,” Hansen said. “But right now everything is in flux.”

Read the full story at The Public’s Radio

Fishing and offshore industries no closer to finding solutions

April 2, 2020 — Outstanding permitting for the delayed 800MW Vineyard project off Massachusetts may not be resolved until December, when the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is expected to issue a final decision.

A much-awaited supplement to the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) is currently expected on 12 June.

The Vineyard phase 1 of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid’s “pathfinder” project will miss its original commissioning date of 2022. The deadline for a conditional order for MHI Vestas V164-9.5MW turbines expired in early March.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, had refused to endorse BOEM’s draft EIS for Vineyard, complaining that fishing concerns were not addressed adequately. This helped trigger the government’s ongoing analysis of offshore wind’s cumulative impacts in the region.

Studying cumulative impacts is extremely complicated, said Bonnie Ram, a senior researcher at the Centre for Research in Wind at the University of Delaware. BOEM is not a large agency and is learning as it proceeds, she noted.

Read the full story at Wind Power Monthly

Rep. Moulton: Fish aid first in string of relief packages

April 1, 2020 — The $300 million direct assistance to the U.S. seafood industry to mitigate the economic impact of the novel coronavirus is expected to be just the first of a string of federal relief measures enacted in the coming months, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton said Tuesday.

Moulton conceded that many of the details of the direct assistance remain sketchy on eligibility requirements and the distribution of the direct aid to the seafood industry stretching from Hawaii and Alaska to Massachusetts and Maine.

“I know people have a lot of questions,” Moulton said by phone. “There are only dribbles of information every day.”

Moulton, who continues to recover from contracting what he said is a mild case of COVID-19, said he anticipates the funds will be distributed in a manner employed in other fishery disaster assistance packages.

In previous assistance packages, the Commerce Department received the congressional appropriation and distributed the funds to individual regions — such as New England, Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico — to be managed by individual states and local communities.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times