Daily Archives: March 24, 2020

Doing Well! Lobstermen survive with off-the-boat sales

Seacoast lobstermen have seen complete sellouts of their weekly catch since dining establishments and other businesses began to shut down as a result of the health emergency – but only because they’re finding alternative solutions to sell, mostly via retail sales to the public right off the boat. Most lobstermen were notified by their wholesale dealers last week that since restaurants in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts have been mandated to go takeout-only – resulting in many opting to close their doors completely – the buyers won’t be buying. There’s no one to sell to. >click to read< 19:57

Commercial Fisherman lost in Lake Erie after going overboard

Divers from the OPP are searching Lake Erie for a man who is missing after going overboard from a commercial fishing vessel Monday morning. The incident happened about 13 kilometres west of Long Point around 10:15 a.m. The fisherman is being identified as Michael Smith, of Port Dover, Ontario from the fishing tug Donna F. “He was loved by all and had an amazing number of friends amongst the fishermen and Port Doverites alike,” photo, boatnerd.com >click to read< 19:11

Coronavirus: Dear UFA Members and Friends, people arriving in Alaska are required to self-quarantine

As we all try to understand the magnitude of Covid-19, UFA is closely monitoring the evolving situation. We are actively engaged on the issue at the state and federal level and we will continue to provide you with information as soon as we get it. Last night, Governor Dunleavy issued a Health Mandate for the State of Alaska. All people arriving in Alaska, whether resident, worker or visitor, are required to self-quarantine for 14 days and monitor for illness. Arriving residents and workers in self-quarantine, should work from home, unless you support critical infrastructure (see Attachment A). (Food and agriculture, company cafeterias, cultivation, including farming, livestock, and fishing;) >click to read, links< 17:45

Fishing industry slump demonstrates vulnerability of food security in Coronavirus crisis

Measures are needed to avoid a worldwide Covid-19 slump in agriculture and food production, such as already exists in the fishing industry. Fishing fleets and fish farmers were among the hardest hit by COVID-19, and not just in Ireland. Businesses in the United States and elsewhere supplying high-value food products like lobster and other crustaceans to restaurants in China have also been crippled by the pandemic.,, Demand for seafood slumped dramatically. Many Irish trawlers are now tied up at the piers, with their crews having handed out free fish,,, >click to read< 14:59

Coronavirus: Maryland seafood industry affected by outbreak

“Right now, the climate in the seafood business is absolutely horrific ever since the announcements that eat-in restaurants were shut down. We really took it on the chin. It virtually shut down the last two weeks that were left in the oyster season,”,  Out on the water, those who catch the oysters are feeling the pain, as well, on what was set to be one of the better oyster seasons on record. “It kind of put us out of business and now we’re looking at spring fishing and going into summer fishing, and the markets are slowed almost to a standstill for that and now we’re worried about the crabs,” said Jim Reihl, Maryland Oysterman’s Association president. Video, >click to read< 13:57

Coronavirus: Global lockdown to hit China’s supplies of steak, lobster, wines

Just over a month ago, supply chains in China were thrown into chaos as trucks and planes delivering goods to the world came to a standstill. Now, China’s economy is moving back towards capacity, while the supply shock from the coronavirus pandemic is beginning to affect many Western countries, as they look to contain the virus’ spread. But this second round of supply shock enveloping countries around the world may mean China’s growing middle classes find themselves strapped for premium overseas food such as meat and dairy products,,, Video, >click to read< 11:26

At the Very Beginning of the Great Alaska Earthquake

The world and everything in it appeared to be convulsing. Genie’s eyes were seeing it, but her mind couldn’t organize all the discordant information into a coherent story. Suddenly, through the windshield, she watched the road roll away from the car. The pavement didn’t break apart; it was still solid. But it rolled, wavelike, as though some humpbacked shadow creature were surging under its surface, heading for town. Finally, Genie found a word that could fasten this chaos to­gether in her mind. She said the word aloud: “This is an earthquake.” >click to read< 09:17

Coronavirus: Stockfish Production Company Worries About Corona Effect

For Glea, a stockfish producing company on the island of Røst in Lofoten, Norway, it is more or less business as usual during the corona crisis. The company mainly produces stockfish, cod dried on wooden racks in the winter and springtime. Stockfish has a long shelf life and the company therefore takes the chance on producing a certain volume this year too. “The fishers land fish here the way they use to do.,, “Our main market for stockfish is Italy, and some 70 to 80 percent of our sales is exported there”, he says. “Right now, sales to Italy have come to a full stop,” >click to read< 08:32