May 26, 2020 — Dale Parsons is a fifth-generation clammer whose family has owned Parsons Seafood in Tuckerton since 1909. He’s quick to tell you, proudly, that his facility in Little Egg Harbor has both an oyster shell recycling program and the only restored living oyster reef in New Jersey.
These days, however, things at Parsons Seafood are tight. The coronavirus pandemic, and the wave of restrictions put in place to slow the disease, has pushed his business down about 40%, Parsons said.
That big hit is driven by the loss of restaurant demand — no one eating at restaurants means no one is ordering fish.
“We’re down quite a bit,” Parsons said, who noted that that his retail business has tripled, though it doesn’t make up for what restaurants would normally buy. “We’ve improvised and sourced some new costumer base.”
As the coronavirus gripped New Jersey, stories like Parsons’ are common: commercial captains have seen restaurant demand evaporate; and the wholesalers that move the seafood from dock to table have been forced to find new markets.