March 27, 2020 — Commercial fishermen in the U.S. who have already faced challenges in recent years to make it in an increasingly globalized and regulated industry, are now struggling to find customers during the coronavirus crisis.
“This is totally unprecedented. This is the biggest crisis to hit the fishing industry ever, no question about that,” Noah Oppenheim, executive director of The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations told NPR in a phone interview. The federation is a trade association representing commercial fishermen along the West Coast.
On Tuesday, seafood industry leaders, processors and fishermen sent a letter to House and Senate leaders requesting $4 billion in aid for the industry.
The closings of restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic has hit commercial fishermen particularly hard.