December 30, 2021 — Consumers are becoming more interested in the sustainability credentials of the seafood they eat, a long-awaited trend the COVID-19 pandemic may have served to accelerate.
Data from GlobeScan found that in 2020, 38 percent of the consumers surveyed possessed a willingness to reward companies they perceived as responsible, a significant leap up from the roughly 20 percent the firm had historically tallied since 1999.
December 23, 2021 — “The check is in the mail” for Alaskan fisheries approved for the first round of funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities Act, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).
Eligible participants should receive their checks in a few weeks, the ADF&G said in a news release Wednesday.
Alaska received $50 million of the $300 million of CARES Act funding set aside for the U.S. fisheries industry. The approved Alaskan applicants will split $49,371,189 of the funds after administrative costs. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received $349,700 for the “assessment on federal grants,” the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission received $201,121 for administrative fees and ADF&G received $68,900 in administrative fees, according to information on ADF&G’s website.
December 22, 2021 — From Alaska to California to New York to Maine, hyper-local seafood purveyors throughout the United States have seen a boom in interest the COVID-19 pandemic – and federal, state, and local governments are taking notice.
As the result COVID’s drastic impact on seafood supply chains and the U.S. consumer market for seafood, the local seafood trend has thrived in the pandemic, from direct-to-consumer seafood subscription services, to community supported fisheries (CSFs), to fishermen banding together to form sales cooperatives such as Real Good Fish and Get Hooked Seafood in California, Local Catch Network in New England, and Louisiana Direct Seafood.
December 22, 2021 — This month NOAA Fisheries released a report analyzing the impacts that COVID-19 had on the U.S. seafood and for-hire fishing sector in 2020. The report looked at wild harvest and aquaculture, as well as the recreational charter/ for-hire sectors. And according to NOAA, their analysis showed that the COVID-19 public health crisis “created a turning point for the U.S. and the global seafood industry.”
Here are 4 key takeaways from the report:
Commercial Fishing Landings Revenue Declined in 2020
Regional landings revenue from March to December 2020, relative to the 5-year-baseline (2015-2019), declined 15% in the Atlantic HMS, 18% in the Northeast, 27% in the Southeast, 29% in Alaska and the West Coast; and 36% in Hawaii. There was no increase in monthly landings revenue relative to the baseline until October 2020. At that point the Northeast posted a 4% increase. The following month the Atlantic HMS fishery posted a 21% increase.
December 21, 2021 — The city of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. has implemented a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for indoor spaces including the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the host location of the 2022 edition of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America.
Beginning 15 January, 2022, individuals will be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to enter certain indoor spaces in Boston, including convention centers and exhibition halls, as part of the city’s “B Together” initiative. The 2022 Seafood Expo North America, operated by Portland, Maine, U.S.A.-based Diversified Communications, is scheduled to take place 13 to 15 March, 2022.
December 21, 2021 — An updated analysis of the covid-19 pandemic’s effect on the U.S. fishing and seafood industry shows an across-the-board 22 percent decline in commercial landings revenue during 2020 compared to the previous five-year average, NMFS experts said.
The previously growing aquaculture sector “continued to struggle despite the incremental re-opening of restaurants beginning in May 2020,” while the recreational sector saw a 17 percent decline in trips during 2020, the NMFS report states.
“Our analysis shows that the covid public health crisis created a turning point for the U.S. and the global seafood industry,” agency officials said in releasing the new report, updating the original analysis from January 2021. “It created new long-term challenges to expanding our sustainable domestic seafood sector.”
Food service sales fell 40 percent in the “first quarter of covid-19,” defined as March through May 2020, relative to average sales in the three preceding quarters, the report states.
December 17, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries released an updated report, U.S. Seafood Industry and For-Hire Sector Impacts from COVID-19: 2020 in Perspective. It provides an economic assessment of COVID-19 effects on the U.S. fishing and seafood industry in 2020. This includes analyses of the wild harvest, aquaculture, and the recreational charter/for-hire sectors. Our analysis shows that the COVID public health crisis created a turning point for the U.S. and the global seafood industry. It created new long-term challenges to expanding our sustainable domestic seafood sector. The pandemic also created significant challenges for the U.S. recreational for-hire industry.
Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries
December 16, 2021 — Mounting difficulties in bringing seafood processed in China into the United States has created an opportunity for U.S. processors, including Portland, Maine-based Bristol Seafood.
China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed China’s seafood-processing sector’s production, and related logistical and transportation issues have impeded delivery of their products to the U.S. Those issues, along with the continued imposition of U.S. tariffs as high as 25 percent on seafood imported from China, have made China a less-attractive option for processing for U.S. seafood buyers, according to Bristol Seafood CEO Peter Handy.
December 14, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board has approved for public comment Draft Addendum XXIX to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Lobster and Draft Addendum IV to the Jonah Crab FMP. The Draft Addenda were initiated in August 2020 to consider implementing electronic tracking requirements for federally-permitted vessels in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries, with the objective of collecting high resolution spatial and temporal effort data.
The collection of enhanced spatial and temporal data via electronic tracking devices in the offshore fishery would support managers in addressing a number of challenges facing the fishery. Electronic tracking data would greatly improve the stock assessment’s ability to estimate exploitation and abundance for American lobster, as the trackers would allow size composition data to be linked to harvest at a finer spatial resolution than what is currently possible. Additionally, the data could improve the models used to assess the location of vertical lines in the fishery and their associated risk to endangered North Atlantic right whales, which could impact federal risk reduction requirements for the fishery. Characterizing the footprint of the U.S. lobster fishery will also be critical to ocean planning efforts to minimize spatial conflicts with other ocean uses such as aquaculture, marine protected areas, and offshore energy development, as well as provide fishery managers tools to help maintain industry fishing grounds. Last, the efficiency of law enforcement efforts could be significantly improved with data to help enforcement officials locate widely dispersed gear in the offshore fishery.
The Commission and its member states from Maine to Virginia will be conducting a series of hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addenda. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most hearings will be conducted via webinar; some hearings will be state-specific and others regionally-focused. Public hearing information, webinar links, and call-in information are below. Please note that in order to comment during the hearings you will need to use your computer or download the GoToWebinar app for your phone. Those joining by phone only will be limited to listening to the presentation and will not be able to provide input. Additional details on participating in the webinar can be found later in this release; this information is particularly important for those that have not used the GoToWebinar platform before.
| Wednesday, January 12, 2022
6:30 – 8 PM |
Connecticut and New York | Colleen Bouffard(CT), 860.876.6881
Maureen Davidson (NY), 631.444.0483 |
| Thursday, January 13, 2022
6:30 – 8 PM |
New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia | Joseph Cimino (NJ), 609.748.2020
John Clark (DE), 302.739.9914 Michael Luisi (MD), 443.758.6547 Patrick Geer (VA), 757.247.2236 |
| Tuesday, January 18, 2022
6 – 8 PM |
Maine Department of Marine Resources | Megan Ware (ME), 207.446.0932
|
| Wednesday, January 19, 2022
6 – 8 PM |
Maine Department of Marine Resources | Megan Ware (ME), 207.446.0932 |
| Wednesday, January 19, 2022
6:30 – 8 PM |
New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game
Note: This hearing will be held in a hybrid format. To virtually attend this hearing, please use this webinar registration link. To listen in only, dial1.415.655.0052 and enter 879-685-496. You can also attend in person at the address below: Urban Forestry Center 45 Elwyn Road Portsmouth, NH 03801
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Cheri Patterson (NH), 603.868.1095 |
| Thursday, January 20, 2022
6:30 – 8 PM |
Massachusetts and Rhode Island | Nichola Meserve (MA), 617.626.1531
Jason McNamee (RI), 401.222.4700 |
The Draft Addenda include two options for proposed management programs. The first is status quo or no changes to the current program, and the second is to implement electronic tracking requirements for federally-permitted American lobster and Jonah crab vessels with commercial trap gear area permits for Lobster Conservation Management Areas 1 through 5 and Outer Cape Cod. Under this option, the specified permit holders would be required to install an approved electronic vessel tracking device to their vessel prior to beginning a fishing trip to collect and transmit spatial data. The devices would collect vessel locations every minute, which would allow for the distinction between transiting and fishing activity, as well as the estimation of traps per trawl. The Draft Addenda also describe administrative processes at the Commission, state, and federal levels for successful implementation of the management program to ensure the data collected meet the needs of state and federal partners.
To register for a public hearing webinar please click HERE and select the hearing(s) you plan to attend from the dropdown menu. Hearings will be held via GoToWebinar, and you can join the webinar from your computer, tablet or smartphone. If you are new to GoToWebinar, you can download the software (click here) or via the App store under GoToWebinar. We recommend you register for the hearing well in advance of the hearing since GoToWebinar will provide you with a link to test your device’s compatibility with the webinar. If you find your device is not compatible, please contact the Commission at info@asmfc.org (subject line: GoToWebinar help) and we will try to get you connected. We also strongly encourage participants to use the computer voice over internet (VoIP) so you can ask questions and provide input at the hearing. Those joining by phone only, will be limited to listening to the presentation but will not be able to provide input during the hearing. In those cases, you can send your comments to staff via email, U.S. mail, or fax at any time during the public comment period. To attend the webinar in listen only mode, dial 1-877-309-2071 and enter access code 350-416-497.
The Commission will also post a recording of the hearing presentation on the Commission’s YouTube page so that stakeholders may watch the presentation and submit comment at any time during the comment process. This recording will be available in early January; a subsequent press release will announce the availability of the recording.
The Draft Addenda are available here or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. Members of the commercial fishing industry and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input either by participating in public hearings, webinars, or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 31, 2022and should be sent to Caitlin Starks, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Lobster Draft Addendum XXIX). For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
December 14, 2021 — Supply chain problems are causing issues for seafood sales in U.S. grocery stores.
Fresh seafood sales dropped 0.3 percent in November 2021 year-over-year, while ambient sales fell 3.5 percent, according to new data from IRI and 210 Analytics.