Saving Seafood

USDA Helps Struggling Pacific Seafood Industry With Historic Purchase

May 14, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a first-time purchase of several West Coast seafood products for its food assistance programs.  The news is being well received by the regional seafood industry.

Over the past year, the nationwide closure of restaurants has caused a 70 percent drop in the seafood market, according to Lori Steele.  She’s executive director for the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, which represents Oregon, Washington, and California.

Now Steele says out of $160 million the USDA is using to buy domestic products, $17 million will go towards seafood commercially harvested on the West Coast.

“The exciting part is they want to purchase all three of the products that we requested:  Pink shrimp, rock fish, and whiting,” adds Steele. “$17 million is a really great start to this relationship.”

Read the full story at KLCC

After Year Of Pandemic, Seafood Industry Hopes 2021 Brings Calmer Waters

April 1, 2021 — April 1 is the start of pink shrimp season across the Pacific Coastline. Seafood industry officials hope it’s one that’ll offset the pandemic’s effects on markets that began a year ago.

The West Coast Seafood Processors Association represents companies in Oregon, Washington, and California. Executive director, Lori Steele, said last year at this time, the COVID-19 pandemic froze customer demand practically overnight.  She said demand from restaurants fell more than 70%, so hopefully 2021 will see a rebound.

“The more that we can support the restaurant industry, and get consumers back out to the coast and eating seafood we’re going to see some improvements,” Steele told KLCC.

“But I also think that we are also be dealing with the economic consequences of this pandemic beyond just 2021, unfortunately.”

Read the full story at KLCC

West Coast Seafood Processors ‘Cautiously Hopeful’ for the Remainder of 2021

March 5, 2021 — The West Coast Seafood Processors Association (WCSPA) said seafood processors are hoping to see improvements in 2021 as the vaccination process rolls out nationwide and restaurants begin to reopen.

Both fishermen and seafood processors are often the backbones of coastal communities, the WCSPA explained. The industries provide economic stability and generate thousands of local year-round jobs.

Read the full story at Seafood News

West Coast Seafood Industry Eager to Discuss Climate Actions

January 28, 2021 — The following was released by the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, and the Oregon Trawl Commission:

On the same day the Biden Administration announced the Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, the fishing and seafood industry welcomed President Biden’s commitment to healthy oceans and inclusion of the industry as a key stakeholder group to discussions about conserving 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

Fishermen and seafood processors are the backbone of many coastal communities, ensuring the stability of thousands of local seafood jobs coastwide. West Coast fisheries, including groundfish, pink shrimp, Dungeness crab, salmon, albacore tuna and Pacific hake, represent some of the best examples of sustainable fisheries management in the world. They emphasize a transparent stakeholder-driven process through both the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and state fishery management agencies.

“We appreciate that President Biden has committed to a science-based process with meaningful stakeholder engagement,” West Coast Seafood Processors Association Executive Director Lori Steele said. “Thankfully, our Council process already provides us this very solid foundation. We are looking forward to continuing to work with our Council partners, and we stand ready to engage with the Biden Administration to ensure the long-term health of our oceans.”

Read the full release here

Oregon Dungeness crab vessels are finally headed to sea

January 12, 2021 — Three-and-a-half weeks into Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab season, crab boats are finally heading out to sea.

Haggling over the opening price was the sticking point between processors and fishermen.  An agreement on $2.75 per pound was announced Friday night.

Taunette Dixon of the Newport Fishermen’s Wives group said she can’t recall the last time negotiations went on this long.  But she’s hopeful the season goes well.

“For the fisherman who are risking their lives, that are out there sacrificing their time, their energy, their health, their safety…to bring seafood to the world,” Dixon said.

Lori Steele, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, said the COVID-19 pandemic really hit the industry starting in March 2020.

Read the full story at OPB

No agreement yet on crab prices

January 4, 2021 — Two weeks after the season was set to open on Dec. 16, Oregon crabbers are still sitting at the dock waiting for a price before heading out to sea.

The California season is likewise delayed by price negotiations, while the Washington season has been delayed until at least Jan. 15 due to high domoic acid levels.

With no price agreement in sight, many would pin the price hang-up on the largest processor in the area, Pacific Seafood, but after a period of silence, the company has asserted it’s only one of many processors that contribute to determining the price, which is especially difficult this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While not directly involved, Lori Steel, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, said that as of Wednesday, negotiations were still ongoing behind closed doors, and a price could be decided at any time. Pacific Seafood is one of the companies that falls under the association’s umbrella.

“The companies I represent are working hard to get this going and find an agreement among the fishermen they buy from,” Steel said. “We’re all hopeful to see fishermen on the water as soon as possible.”

Steel said the pandemic has been a huge source of uncertainty this year and has disrupted every part of the supply chain for the crab industry. She estimates that the government closures have caused restaurant and food service demand for crab to fall 70 percent, and other restrictions on employment have led to a labor shortage.

“People who don’t work in the industry need to understand that we’re a struggling industry right now, and the pandemic is putting unprecedented pressure on us from the harvesters all the way up the supply chain,” Steel said. “We’re doing the best we can, and it’s just been a tough year. We want to see this resolved and have our guys packing crab in the plants as soon as possible.”

Read the full story at the Newport News Times

Pacific Council Unanimously Approves Pacific Sardine Rebuilding Plan

September 18, 2020 — The Pacific Fisheries Management Council yesterday approved a rebuilding plan for the northern stock of Pacific sardines that incorporates the current status quo harvest policy, one of several alternatives before the panel.

The council chose Alternative 1 in large part because it was supported by the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Management Team, an advisory body to the council, along with fishermen, processors, and allied fishing businesses along the West Coast.

Read the full story at Seafood News

OREGON: Newport restores water to commercial users

July 9, 2020 — “The good news is, we’re up and running again in Newport,” said Lori Steele, executive director of West Coast Seafood Processors. “It’s really good news.”

As part of the city of Newport’s declared water emergency, production at fish processing plants on the Bayfront had been halted. This action was taken because the city could not supply its industrial users with water, due to the unexpected fouling of membrane filters at the city’s water treatment plant.

“There were concerns that we were going to shut down longer than just through the holiday weekend,” Steele told the News-Times early Tuesday afternoon. “There were financial losses and disruption in the fishing community when this happened, but we got though it.”

Read the full story at the Newport News Times