April 28, 2020 — Restaurant closures due to the coronavirus pandemic continue to cause a major disruption in the seafood supply industry – and as a result, some commercial fishermen have turned to new ways to sell their catch.
“Everything is just being devastated because of the coronavirus,” said Wes Townsend, a full-time commercial fisherman in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Townsend has been fishing for about 44 years.
“Black sea bass is the main thing that we have. We also do lobster, certain times of the year we do rock fishing,” Townsend said.
This season, though, he’s catching a lot less — and not because of a lack of fish.
“This year, with the coronavirus, we have actually had buyers tell us, ‘Don’t go, we do not want your fish. We have no markets,’” Townsend added.
It’s something he said he’d never experienced before.
“We have never had the buyers tell us don’t go,” Townsend said.
With most restaurants closing their doors, the seafood supply industry has been suffering.
According to the most recent data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than two-thirds of seafood has been served at restaurants.