Tag Archives: Assistant Fisheries Minister Jonathon Duniam

Coronavirus: Seafood industry falls victim to the virus

Abalone fisheries, reliant on China for up to 90 per cent of sales, have been paralysed by the sudden drop in demand with Tasmania’s entire fleet of up to 100 abalone dive boats “ground to a halt” for the past month. Lobster was one of the first sectors to suffer as the result of China’s quarantine lockdowns, forcing the sale of export catches on the local market at discounted prices. The crisis has since broadened, affecting scale fisheries such as banded morwong and wrasse, and all processors reliant on China ­exports or live fish trade to deserted Chinatowns in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. >click to read< 09:16