Saving Seafood

Coronavirus cancellation pinches New Bedford seafood industry

March 25, 2020 — The International Seafood Buyers Luncheon, which for years has showcased the city’s fishing industry and seafood processing plants, has been cancelled due to concerns about the coronavirus.

It is one of the first cancellations locally due to the infectious disease first identified in Wuhan, China at the end of last year which has since spread across the globe.

One SouthCoast Chamber posted the cancellation on its website, and Ian Abreu, manager of business development and small business engagement at the Chamber and a New Bedford City Council, confirmed it was due to concerns about the coronavirus. The New Bedford event had been scheduled for Friday. Rick Kidder, co-chief executive officer, did not return calls for comment.

The cancellation of the New Bedford luncheon and tour is a trickle-down effect after the postponement of the Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, scheduled to be held March 15-17 in Boston, because of concern over the coronavirus, according to Edward Anthes-Washburn, executive director of the Port of New Bedford.

Typically, some 40 to 50 buyers would come to New Bedford, get an overview of the city’s port, enjoy a luncheon and tour five or six seafood processing plants, he said. This would have been the 15th year New Bedford has hosted the event.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

US seafood suppliers, organizations forge ahead with Boston plans

March 13, 2020 — The Global Aquaculture Alliance and other companies and nonprofits involved in the seafood industry have rescheduled events originally planned for Seafood Expo North America to online meetings and webinars.

The GAA Stakeholder Update Meeting will take place as a webinar on 19 March at 11 a.m. EST. GAA board and committee meetings, which are closed to the public, will also be held online.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

“No Show Fish Show” seeks silver lining in Seafood Expo North America postponement

March 11, 2020 — A number of seafood companies that were planning on exhibiting at or holding events during Seafood Expo North America in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. – postponed by organizer Diversified Communications last week due to the COVID-19 outbreak – are going ahead with online versions of those meetings and live social media demonstrations.

In an effort being coordinated by Jennifer Bushman, principal of Route to Market, a strategic development consultant for aquaculture companies, this ad hoc group of seafood companies have joined together on a social media and publicity campaign dubbed the “No Show Fish Show.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Concerns about coronavirus spur postponement of Seafood Expo in Boston

March 4, 2020 — Out of concerns about the coronavirus, the 40th edition of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, scheduled to take place March 15-17 in Boston, has been postponed, organizers announced Tuesday.

The event, which brings together seafood buyers and suppliers from all over the world, was to have been held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, but media company Diversified Communications said in a news release that “After many weeks of monitoring the evolving situation around COVID-19 and evaluating the full spectrum of feedback we received among hundreds of calls and emails, we have decided that the (Expo) … will not take place in March and is postponed while we look at other options.”

The release went on to say that the decision was difficult “because of the major importance of this event to the industry. We heard from those of you who were concerned about health, safety and travel restrictions, and given the short time before the scheduled event date, and upcoming logistics, we have determined that postponement at this time is unavoidable.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Seafood Expo North America postponed

March 3, 2020 — Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, scheduled to take place 15 to 17 March in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., has been postponed by the event’s organizer, Diversified Communications.

The decision was made on 3 March in response to growing concerns over the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, according to Diversified Communications Group Vice President Liz Plizga.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Coronavirus ‘no-contact, no-handshake policy’ at Seafood Expo in Boston

March 2, 2020 — Organizers for the upcoming Seafood Expo North America in Boston are encouraging attendees to follow a “no-contact, no-handshake policy” because of coronavirus concerns.

The Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America trade event — at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in the Seaport, from March 15 to 17 — will also have significantly fewer visitors from Asia because of the highly contagious disease.

“Due to travel restrictions into the United States, we are expecting to see an impact from Mainland China, which annually represents 5% of the combined visitor and exhibitor attendee base and 9% of the exhibit space,” a spokeswoman for the expo said in a statement. “Despite the situation, we have more than 1,100 companies that are still planning on exhibiting this March.”

About 80% of the expo visitors come from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Read the full story at The Boston Herald

Blue Harvest rolls out frozen groundfish, scallop line just in advance of Boston show

February 28, 2020 — Fresh from its acquisition of a dozen groundfish vessels, Blue Harvest Fisheries is rolling out a new line of branded retail products to be sold quick frozen and packaged in 16-ounce re-closable bags.

The new products, which include wild-caught Atlantic scallops, pollock, ocean perch and haddock, arrive just in time to be showcased at the Boston, Massachusetts, seafood show.

Blue Harvest, which is based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 59 miles south of the city hosting Seafood Expo North America, March 15-17, says its new offerings meet “the growing demand by consumers for all-natural, sustainably caught and locally harvested wild seafood”. They are to be sourced from Marine Stewardship Council-certified fisheries “in local US waters” and “100% traceable from fleet to table”.

And even better, they are to be processed in the US, as Blue Harvest plans to rely on its newly completed SQF-certified, 160,000 square foot plant on New Bedford’s waterfront. The company spent millions to build the facility, which comes with six high-capacity processing lines, direct offload capability, two cold storage areas and 700 feet of dock space.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Seafood Expo North America prepared for coronavirus impacts

February 28, 2020 — Diversified Communications, the company that organizes Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America (SENA) each year, said it is prepared for potential impacts to the event caused by COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus.

The Expo, which will take place from 15 to 17 March, has been the subject of speculation regarding the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Rumors that the Expo could be cancelled, or that the event has been heavily impacted, are ”simply not true,” according to Mary Larkin, president, Diversified Communications USA.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Boston Seafood Show Organizers Recommend ‘No-Contact, No-Handshake Policy’

February 26, 2020 — There will be a lot of waving going on at Seafood Expo North America in Boston next month. Diversified Communications, the organizers of the Boston Seafood Show, released yet another update for attendees and exhibitors who are concerned about the coronavirus and the upcoming event.

The latest recommendation from Diversified? “No-contact, no-handshake policy.”

Read the full story at Seafood News