Daily Archives: March 21, 2020
Coronavirus: Seafood processors respond to COVID-19 with added precautions
Seafood industry processors say they are in ongoing discussions with local, state and federal partners,,, The seafood industry talking points including working around the clock on prevention and response, coordinating with partners that include public health officials, preventing the spread of COVID-19 within Alaska and keeping seafood safe, said Stephanie Madsen, executive director of the At-Sea Processors Association. The Seattle-based trade association represents six member companies who own and operate 16 U.S. flagged catcher/processor vessels participating principally in the Alaska Pollock fishery and West Coast Pacific whiting fishery. The group includes American Seafoods Co., Arctic Storm Management Group LLC, Coastal Villages Region Fund, Glacier Fish Company LLC, Aleutian Spray Fisheries Inc. and Trident Seafoods. >click to read< 20:56
Coronavirus: Gov. Mills asks President Trump for direct financial assistance in support of Maine’s fishing and seafood industries
Governor Janet Mills pressed President Donald Trump to marshal the resources of the federal government to support Maine’s vital fishing and seafood industries. “I am writing today to ask for your immediate assistance in support of Maine’s iconic seafood industry. The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a substantial toll on Maine’s independent fishermen, aquaculturists, wholesale dealers, and seafood processors,” wrote Governor Mills. “The markets for their products are collapsing both globally and locally. The men and women who ply our waters harvesting lobster, groundfish, herring, shellfish, countless other species, and farming aquacultured products are the very backbone of our rural coastal economy.” >click to read< 15:19
Coronavirus: Fishermen return from sea with a big catch and no place to sell
The coronavirus literally traveled over them from Asia to California while they were on the high seas catching tuna. They were as safe as anyone doing one of the most dangerous jobs, and now? Fishermen are returning home to California to find a state all but shuttered and nowhere to sell their catch. A handful of tuna boats filled with tens of thousands of pounds of fish are now floating off San Diego’s coast as they scramble to find customers. Many wholesalers stopped buying as restaurants were ordered closed except for takeout. photo’s, >click to read< 11:42
Coronavirus: Fishing markets impacted by new restaurant guidelines and shifting markets
One of the owners of ‘Erickson and Jensen’ says these changes have not impacted the prices of their shrimp, but it has impacted their actual sales. ‘Erickson and Jensen’ has been a family-run shrimp business since the 1950s. “Well we’ve been doing this for a long time, my family is multi-generational, we’ve always been fisherman,” said Grant Erickson.,, While they’ve seen their sales to restaurants go down, they have seen their sales to markets like Publix go up. “We can see the change happening in that there is a heavier demand in retail than in the restaurant area,” said Erickson. >click to read< 10:03
CDFW’s Salmon Evacuation Decision Pays Exceptional Dividends
In February 2017, damage to the Oroville Dam’s spillways prompted the evacuation of more than 180,000 people living downstream along the Feather River. The raging muddy waters also triggered an emergency decision to relocate millions of young salmon from the Feather River Hatchery to the Thermalito Annex Hatchery to be raised and held until river water conditions improved. Most, if not all, of the young salmon would have otherwise died when mud from the raging river overwhelmed the hatchery waters. >click to read< 08:39
Coronavirus: Fish processor closes as markets collapse
One of the country’s largest fish processing companies is shutting down because the EU’s fish markets have collapsed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Processors are now calling on the Government to set up a task force to save the industry. All 64 of the boats managed by the Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-Operative have been asked to come back into port. “The world has collapsed a little bit and we can’t do anything in the European market. There are loads of fish but there is not sufficient enough market. >click to read< 07:37
