Nicki Holmyard
Small businesses forced to make ‘heart breaking’ decisions
COVID-19 has probably changed the global seafood industry forever, and in ways we haven’t even thought of yet. In my small sector, it has affected production, sales, supply chains, and the morale of the many small shellfish businesses in the UK. Those who already slept uneasily at night, find myriad more issues to keep them awake.
Apart from lost sales, our own business, Offshore Shellfish, is approaching a very busy time of year for farm and boat maintenance, and we are struggling to access some of the equipment and spare parts that we need.
We are also faced with uncertainty over whether surveyors will turn up to do the annual coding inspections, which in turn would have implications for our insurance and the legality of putting to sea.
All such minor niggles will gradually get sorted out, but they take up headspace and management time in already busy schedules.
Then there are staff issues, having to manage those who need to self-isolate, those who think they should self-isolate ‘just in case’, those who are genuinely ill, and others who are too terrified to go to work.
Our answer is to put in place strict protocols that ensure separation distances can be maintained onshore and on the boats, not travelling in the same vehicle together, not sharing crockery or cutlery, and plenty of hand washing and sanitation.
Our staff have never had so many emails and memos directed at them, and I doubt that they have all been read!
If we don’t keep working and maintaining optimum flotation levels, the mussel lines will sink and we lose the crop. If we don’t put in new spat-catching lines, then we will have no mussels next year.
Both scenarios potentially lead to the loss of jobs and ultimately of the business, and we are determined that this won’t happen. Persuading staff that it is not just ‘all about money’ is another thing.
One of the biggest immediate effects of government measures to slow the spread of coronavirus, is that catering businesses have all but shut down. It is likely that many restaurants, already struggling with slow business over the winter, will never reopen their doors.
As a result, sales of fresh seafood are down, and retailers are shelving their fresh fish counters, but demand for frozen seafood is booming.
This is fine for retail products such as the Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group’s (SSMG) mussels-insauce, which are sold chilled and frozen, but does not help companies who only sell fresh mussels and oysters.
The fresh side of SSMG’S business has suffered from the sudden collapse of the food service and restaurant trade, with the result that its processing plant on Brae in the Shetland Isles has been temporarily shut and the 22 staff formally furloughed.
Michael Tait, chairman of SSMG, told Fish Farmer that the company had no choice but to cease operations in Shetland but that, thankfully, the cooperative’s in-sauce processing unit at Bellshill near Glasgow remains operational and largely unaffected.
‘SSMG will work hard to get through this difficult time and hopefully get the Brae plant back up and running as soon as possible, but these are very challenging circumstances for us, as they are for most people in the country right now,’ he said.
Judith Vajk, who runs Caledonian Oysters with her son Angus, is hoping to keep their workforce going.
‘We have very few sales, although I am trying to encourage people to pick up oysters from our local fish shop in Oban, via social media.
‘However, our work is governed by the tides, and spring is a time of fast new growth, so there’s plenty of grading work to be done, which should mean that we have a plentiful stock of oysters when things go back to normal,’ she said.
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We are remaining positive and hopeful that we will see our customers on the other side”
Kelsey Thomson at Morcambe Bay Oysters supplies hatchery seed and part-grown Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas), and provides two million market ready oysters per year to parent company Loch
Fyne Oysters. He told Fish Farmer that his business was suffering on several fronts.
‘Sales of our market ready oysters are well down, several customers for seed oysters have postponed their orders due to concerns about potential delays with transport, and we are running out of carbon dioxide for the algae unit, because the bottled gas suppliers are so busy delivering oxygen to hospitals.
‘We also have issues with staff self-isolating or not being able to get to work because no one wants to car share, the taxis are all reserved for more important work, and there is no public transport.
‘And on top of all that, the chemical toilet is full and we can’t get it emptied,’ he said.
Sometimes, it is the little things that make one despair!
Richard Haward’s Oysters, a family company in its eighth generation now that Tom Haward has taken over the day to day running of the business on the River Blackwater, has made the ‘heart breaking decision to close our online shop temporarily’, according to a notice on their website.
Tom’s father, Richard, told Fish Farmer that although they were still hoping to continue with online sales, their courier service has struggled to cope with huge demands for all types of deliveries, and could no longer guarantee a next day service.
The company is keeping its stall at Borough Market open, but only for take-away sales.
‘As a small business, this was a tough call to make, and we have lost around 90 per cent of our trade.
However, we are remaining positive and hopeful that we will see our customers on the other side!’ said Richard Haward.
Another oyster farmer, Tim Edwards, who runs the Bantham nursery for Porlock Oysters, has also found his orders drying up.
He fears that if the situation continues for too long, he will run out of space to put graded-out oysters.
‘The business had just started to pick up, with decent sales, then overnight it all stopped. In the meantime, we still have to keep up with the husbandry and routine maintenance, so there is plenty of work to keep us going. Just no money coming in,’ he said.
In normal times, Katy Davidson, Cornwall’s own ‘oyster lady’, hosts oyster experiences at Porthilly Oysters, runs a shuckerett service at weddings, events and festivals, and gives talks, masterclasses and demonstrations around the country. She also runs an Airbnb from her home, but like the oyster work, this has disappeared for now.
‘I hate not being busy, so I am currently working on a crab and lobster boat, then helping to sell the catch direct to local consumers, which gives me the opportunity to add in some Porthilly oysters. It’s important to keep spreading the oyster love!’ she said..