AROUND THE COASTS
AROUND THE COASTS
NOAA
NEWS FOR THE NATION’S FISHERMEN
With seafood markets collapsed and boats tied up, revenue declined in the U.S. industry by 29 percent in the first seven months of 2020.
Nation / World “Over those seven months we’re looking at a 29 percent decrease.” — Paul Doremus, NMFS acting administrator
Covid losses cost industry nearly a third in revenue NMFS economists documented losses March-July after starting the year up 3 percent
T
he U.S. fishing industry lost nearly one-third of its revenue in the first seven months of 2020 as the covid-19 pandemic vaporized its major markets, according to an analysis by NMFS economists. The year started on a high note, with revenues up 3 percent in January and February — before diving 19 percent in March and cratering at 45 percent less in July, said Paul Doremus, acting administrator at NMFS, in a Jan. 15 conference 10 National Fisherman \ March 2021
with reporters. Cumulatively, “over those seven months, we’re looking at a 29 percent decrease,” said Doremus. The agency mobilized its economic experts and government and academic partners in March to document the impact of the pandemic and begin preparing “as comprehensive an account as we could,” said Doremus. The findings were compiled in a report with more than 100 pages of
supporting documents, including detailed region-by-region breakdowns, by authors and economists Rita Curtis of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science & Technology and Steve Kasperski of the agency’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. While the report only documents the industry’s situation up through July, “we’ve already initiated the work to do that next update,” said Curtis.The goal is to continue monitoring economic impacts and fishermen’s response, drawing lessons and strategies for making fishing communities more resilient, said Doremus. The biggest blow early was restaurant and food-service shutdowns, which normally account for 70 percent of purchases for the $200 billion annual industry. Some fisheries that supply shelf-stable product lines, such as surf clams, felt less impact, but fresh markets dried up across the board. Among shellfish growers, 74 percent reported significant losses — even with limited respite when outdoor dining was allowed in summer months. “Harvesting, processing, and distribution have been curtailed for many products and in some cases have ceased in response to restaurant and other closings throughout the country and globally,” the authors summarized. “Further, the industry’s outlook in the coming months is highly uncertain. “However, those interviewed indicated that in contrast to the fresh fish market, consumers dramatically increased supermarket purchases in late March 2020 of shelf-stable and frozen product forms — including canned tuna, Alaska pollock and king mackerel. Figures for this surge in supermarket sales published in the seafood and food trade press ranged from over a 100 percent increase in sales of canned tuna (compared to the same week in 2019) to a percent increase in sales of frozen seafood compared to the same week last year.” One bright spot is signs the pandemic has wrought a shift in consumer behavior, raising interest in healthy diets and more people preparing seafood at www.nationalfisherman.com
