REPORT: FISHING INDUSTRY DOWN MILLIONS
HAMPTON — In the weeks since the coronavirus halted most restaurant operations, Virginia’s fishing industry has taken a big hit.
The information comes from an internal memo the Virginia Marine Resources Commission shared with the Daily Press.
The memo cites revenue potential loss from March through June ranging from $53 million to $68 million due to a near 90% decrease in market demand. The data was compiled to begin to understand the economic impact of COVID-19 on the fishing industry, both commercial and recreational, deputy commissioner Ellen Bolen said.
The information is anecdotal and gives broad calculations, she added.
The aquaculture industry —
which includes oyster and clam harvesters — estimates it is losing between $3.5 and $7 million per month, according to the memo. The figures compiled do not factor in losses in supply such as bait, fuel and ice.
Commercial fishery jobs — some 18,220 around Virginia — includes harvesters, dealers, processors, importers, distributors and retail, according to data from the NOAA Fisheries Economics of the United States report.
Among those, there are at least 1,944 commercially licensed watermen in Virginia, not including deckhands or other support staff on boats or working in aquaculture.
The industry is looking at at least a $76.3 million loss in the raw value of fish at dockside from March through June, based on figures for the same time period last year, commissioner Steve Bowman said.
The commission, which is a regulatory agency, extended the summer flounder season by a month to allow fishermen to take advantage of market opportunities with local supermarkets, Bolen said. The commission said it will continue to look for opportunities and other markets for fishermen to take advantage of when they emerge, according to the memo.
C. Meade Amory, who owns L.D. Amory & Co seafood processor in Hampton, also has cited losses, particularly in the supplier market that ships to restaurants. Amory has shifted to curbside retail sales to keep money coming in and his staff working.
“We have our finger in the dyke,” Amory said. “We did projections on our numbers for the last three weeks and first two weeks of April and we will run out of money. And 30-40% of our customers will go out of business. They have lost their markets and they are scrambling. Eighty percent of our business is restaurants. We sell to the suppliers. Their businesses are off by 90%. It’s tough.”
Amory, like many smallbusiness owners, has applied to the federal government’s paycheck protection program.
Recreational fisheries jobs also are impacted by the pandemic. There are some 5,893 jobs of this type in Virginia. They include thousands of charters for hire, vessels and party boat trips from March through June.