Coronavirus: Frozen seafood demand rises and fresh fish sales plunge

Canned salmon has made a comeback as the coronavirus crisis keeps people in their homes, forcing a change of tack for the fishing industry that usually turns to restaurants from Paris to New York and Shanghai to serve their fresh seafood.

Photo by Sticker Mule on Unsplash | Ricardo Baeza Errazuriz

Fishing crews from Alaska in the United States to Zhejiang in China have been battered by lockdowns that have shut fine dining halls and fancy hotels, leaving customers to stock up from supermarkets rather than pick a platter from a table menu.

“People are scared of handling oysters and clams at home. They want the restaurants to do it,” he said. “And as oysters get bigger, there’s not a market, because they’re too hard to handle. But you can’t put them on hold and tell them to stop growing” said Jake Angelo to Fox Business. 

“There is no point going out to fish and then not be able to sell,” said Bruno Margolle, president of the French fishing federation FEDOPA and co-owner of a family trawler in Boulogne.

About 80% of U.S. shrimps are sold to restaurants. But demand is now “at 10% to 20% of what they normally would sell,” said C. David Veal, executive director of the American Shrimp Processors Association.

Ricardo Baeza Errazuriz, foreign entrepreneur in the US. Specialist in Seafood industry.

Ricardo Baeza Errazuriz, specialist in Fisheries Industries and Seafood, affirms that this crisis is affecting all industries, hoping to be back on track soon to gain back people's trust and demand.

Read the original article by Fox at Fox Business