A newly released study published in the journal Fish and Fisheries has taken a first look at how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the U.S. seafood industry.
The study, “Early effects of COVID‐19 on U.S. fisheries and seafood consumption,” found in the first six months of 2020, U.S. seafood exports dropped 20 percent and imports fell 6 percent compared to the same period last year.
The effects were different depending on the region of the U.S. and between different species and types of seafood.
Live, fresh, and chilled imports dropped 37 percent and exports fell between 29 and 43 percent between February and April 2020.
At the height of the coronavirus crisis in the United States, catches dropped up to 40 percent across the U.S.
They found consumer demand for seafood from restaurants dropped by as much as 70 percent during the initial lockdowns nationally in April, with recovery varying by state.
Orders of seafood purchased through delivery and takeout services, however, increased by 270 percent.
Seafood markets saw a decrease in traffic of up to 30 percent in 2020.
Researchers also saw an increase in alternative modes of seafood delivery with a lot of small-scale fishers selling directly to consumers.
If you would like to see the full study for yourself, we have posted the link on this story at the Oyster Radio facebook page and at oysterradio.com.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12525
No comments:
Post a Comment