Saving Seafood

Shrimp problems in Vietnam portend possible global shortage

April 22, 2020 — Glimpsing beyond a current lack of demand from Vietnam’s major export markets, executives at the country’s top shrimp trading firms are expressing deepening concern about a possible global shortage of shrimp in the latter half of the year.

Once COVID-19 began to spread beyond its origins in China, one by one, Vietnam’s shrimp-trading partners have significantly throttled down their imports. Starting in late February and early March, many importers in Europe stopped receiving cargoes, and by mid-March, customers in North America, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, and South America also increasingly decided to cancel or postpone orders. Stockpiles rose as companies could not export as planned, according to numerous executives interviewed by SeafoodSource. As a result, Vietnam’s export value of shrimp declined nearly 15 percent year-on-year to USD 207.7 million (EUR 190 million) in March, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

COVID-19 Is Hurting Texas Fisheries, But Eating Local Seafood Helps

April 20, 2020 — Typically, spring is a high-demand season for commercial fisheries, and many in the industry rely on these peak months to carry their income throughout the year. But, this year the widespread disruption from COVID-19 has caused seafood demand to come to a screeching halt.

Fortunately, there are ways to support these fisheries, and that means consuming more locally sourced seafood.

“One of the best ways to support local economies is to know where your food comes from and support local sources,” said Laura Picariello, fisheries specialist at the Texas Sea Grant program at Texas A&M University.  “Restaurant managers should be able to tell you where they source their seafood. You can call the restaurant in advance, or ask your server to check with the kitchen if it’s not printed on the menu.”

Seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, like shrimp and oysters, are Texas cuisine classics. These foods are rich in vitamins and minerals, low in sodium and a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Gulf seafood is healthier and more sustainable because of the highly regulated practices implemented by American fisheries, including using safer handling practices and fewer antibiotics.

Read the full story at Texas A&M Today

Seafood Market Craters After Restaurants Shuttered Worldwide

April 16, 2020 — Just one kilogram of freshly caught squid a day was almost enough to live on for Thai fishermen like Wisut Boonnak. Now the catch has halved in price and he’s spending more time on village duties.

“It’s the biggest price drop that I can remember,” said Wisut, who’s been fishing for the past 40 years off the southern Thai coast. “There are fewer buyers around now because exports are lower.” Wisut used to go to sea daily to catch squid and mackerel. These days he’s out just once or twice a week.

The global seafood industry, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, is seeing demand crater. From lobster fishermen in North America to salmon farmers in Norway and shrimp producers in Vietnam, people are hurting as the coronavirus shuts cafes and restaurants and wreaks havoc with supply chains. Whether farmed or wild, fresh or processed, few areas have escaped the impact.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

Shrimp expo in Vietnam postponed for a second time

April 13, 2020 — Organizers of a government-sponsored shrimp exhibition in Vietnam have decided to reschedule the event for a second time over fears of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vietshrimp Aquaculture International Fair 2020, sponsored by Vietnam’s General Department of Fisheries and the Can Tho City government, will now take place from 7 to 9 October in Can Tho, in the Mekong Delta area.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Lists Waiver of Observer Requirements HMS, South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fisheries

April 10, 2020 — NOAA has issued another update on the temporary waiver of observer requirements for federally permitted vessels.

According to the latest document, NOAA is temporarily waiving the requirement to carry a fishery observer for federally permitted vessels participating in the following fisheries:

-South Atlantic Penaeid Shrimp
-South Atlantic Rock Shrimp
-South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper
-Southeast Gillnet
-Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish
-Gulf of Mexico Shrimp
-Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Pelagic Longline
-Shark Bottom Longline (Atlantic HMS)
-Shark Gillnet (Atlantic HMS)

Read the full story at Seafood News

LSU AgCenter, Louisiana Sea Grant aim to help struggling seafood industry

April 6, 2020 — The LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant are working to help the seafood industry, which is struggling with a massive financial challenge created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Restaurants that use large amounts of seafood are only offering carryout service, and they have drastically scaled back their seafood purchases.

“I’m sure it’s less than 10% of its previous quantity,” said Rusty Gaude, LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant fisheries agent in the New Orleans area.

A seafood marketing program, Louisiana Direct Seafood, is one way of helping fishermen and dealers by connecting them directly with consumers.

The Louisiana Direct Seafood program helps consumers buy seafood from fishermen and vendors.

Fishermen in Cameron, Delcambre, Lafourche-Terrebonne and Southshore New Orleans areas post their fresh catch messages on a website. Customers are able to visit the site and see in real time who has fresh product ready for sale, where they are located and their contact information. Consumers can then contact the sellers directly to establish a price, place orders and arrange pickup at the docks or other locations.

Read the full story at The Houma Times

Coronavirus: Struggling Louisiana fishermen, shrimpers look for new ways to sell catch

April 3, 2020 — Louisiana’s fishermen and shrimpers are struggling to sell their catches as the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has severely depressed demand from buyers.

The drop in demand largely comes from the state’s shutdown of restaurants, aside from carryout and delivery options, to prevent further spread of the virus. Gov. John Bel Edwards issued an order closing dine-in operations March 16.

With low demand, processing plants’ freezers and inventories are full, leaving most fishermen with nowhere to sell their catches, said Thomas Hymel, a marine extension agent with the LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Sea Grant.

Read the full story at the Lafayette Daily Advertiser

Coronavirus complications will likely affect shrimp supply chain into summer months

April 3, 2020 — The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is having a big impact on seafood as restaurants remain closed, employees are affected by stay-at-home orders, and borders become tighter to prevent the spread of the virus.

According to a number of industry experts, the disruptions occurring now are likely to have an affect on supply chains into the forseeable future, as processing facilities struggle to obtain products and importers shy away from purchasing goods in the face of uncertain demand. Southeast Asian shrimp production, in particular, will likely be in flux for months to come, according to Robins McIntosh, executive vice president at Charoen Pokphand Foods.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Louisiana’s Seafood Industry Need Us Now More Than Ever

April 1, 2020 — What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Louisiana? Well, if you’re well adjusted then you either answered food or music. Both answers would be acceptable to me because quite frankly in Louisiana one without the other just doesn’t feel right.

While the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have been illustrated across social media platforms by our state’s musical performers, the effect the virus has had on Louisiana’s seafood industry may not have been as widely publicized.

Think about this fact. About 80% of shrimp caught in Louisiana is sold to restaurants. We already know how the virus has scaled back dining out so if you peel the layers back even further you don’t have to look too hard to see Louisiana’s seafood producing families are truly feeling the pinch.

Read the full story at KPEL

US shrimp importers forced to unscramble COVID-19 Rubik’s Cube

March 31, 2020 — Like the product they specialize in selling, US importers of warmwater shrimp are “frozen” on how to sort out the market puzzle created recently by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, according to Travis Larkin, president of the Seafood Exchange, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Foodservice establishments around the country have been ordered to stay closed altogether or are operating under strict limitations, while retail businesses — by contrast — are scrambling to replace their shrimp inventory after a few weeks of panic buying.

“What are importers to do in response?” Undercurrent News asked.

“I don’t think anybody really knows,” answered Larkin, a longtime industry veteran who joined Seafood Exchange in 1997. “You would think that with something of this magnitude, there would be some drastic outcome that we all would predict will come to pass. But I think this is so stunning and so preposterous compared to what we ever thought could happen, that it almost feels like everything is frozen in time and I really haven’t seen any direction in any sense.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News