• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

PANDEMIC FISH TALES FROM THE BAY STATE’S SINKING SEAFOOD INDUSTRY

Written by NATE HOMAN Posted April 19, 2020 Filed Under: COVID, Eats, News, News to Us

coronavirus fishermen
John Symonds

“All these boats have supply, but nowhere to go.” “Our shellfish business died overnight.”

John Symonds sails his 32-foot boat out of Gloucester, catching crustaceans just as members of his family have done since the ’30s. The pandemic at hand is hammering seafood sales, and he wonders if he’s the last lobsterman in his lineage.

“This time of year, [lobsters] usually go for $8 to $10 per pound,” Symonds said in an interview. “Last week, it was $3.”

These are hard times on the high seas for the Bay State’s celebrated seafood industry. Many individuals and businesses are headed for the rocks as social distancing, closed eateries, and trade tariffs take a significant toll on the market.

Symonds continued, “I can only go out once a month until this turns around. Let’s say I’d spend $300 on bait, $200 on help, and $100 on fuel. Would have been cheaper to stay docked—I’m losing money on trips out. My dockage, mortgage, truck upkeep, and other bills stay the same.”

Fishermen in these parts critically rely on the spring harvest, which spans from about midsummer through Christmas. Already, though, they’re losing more than half their income.

“This time of the year, we might make 10 grand for the month,” Hull lobsterman Tim Walsh said. “This is like snow plowing. You don’t rely on it, but it’s great. We might get 200 or 300-pound hauls in 3 days a week. Now it’s like, Fuck, is this worth an eight-hour [day] for $400?”

As was reported in the Gloucester Daily Times, the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association is asking federal and state officials to change the rules so fishermen can sell their catch directly to the public, free of middlemen.

“Guys are pushing for a more direct market,” Symonds said, noting some potential short-term solutions in play. He knows there’s still a market out there. “At a time like this, people are stepping up to help out the local businesses.”

The seafood industry received $300 million in federal bailout money from the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package. It’s a big chunk, but industry experts say losses endured by the nearly $100 billion-a-year industry are devastating, and the portion that goes to everyday fishermen won’t add up to much.

“It’s like, Holy shit, what is gonna happen?” Walsh said. “We expect low volume this time of year, but this is outrageous. This has affected the price of bait, fuel, ground fishing, herring fishing. All these boats have supply, but nowhere to go.”

fishing industry coronavirus

Shipwrecked

There’s a lot of hardship in the wholesale market as well.

“This time of year, with spring, Lent, and family holidays, business is usually so busy,” according to Cameron Newton, who works at John Nagle Co., a wholesale seafood operation in Boston. “Instead, we have half days, people laid off, fish that are going for half the price because of low demand. There’s so much less sword and tuna from imports and certainly domestic boats too. Everything is upside down.”

So far, the only saving grace has been the business of grocery stores and small retail markets, but even they’re not buying nearly as much as they do in normal times.

“Our shellfish business died overnight,” Newton said. “We went from on a good day, selling roughly 250 bags of oysters a day, to 15, to 20—a 90 to 95% decrease. That reflects immediately how many people eat oysters at restaurants, rather than at home.” 

Going into Easter Sunday last week, one business owner praised his regulars who are still buying.

“A lot of areas between here through Maine and Canada aren’t accepting catches because there is no market currently,” Lobster Express owner Ron Patuto said. “However, we will continue to accept the daily catch, support our fishermen, and move the product at reasonable wholesale prices through our retail market. With your help we can keep our fisherman, your neighbor, your friends working.”

The other problem

One country usually buys more Mass lobsters than anyone else.

“Past five years, China was our biggest buyer,” Walsh said. “We couldn’t catch enough lobsters fast enough.

“If China bounces back, we’ll be okay while the US markets rebuild. We sell domestically, but internationally is our big market.”

According to the State House News Service, the Office of International Trade and Investment informed the Commonwealth’s Joint Committee on Export Development that the trade relationship between Massachusetts and China grew from $6.5 billion to $7.8 billion between 2016 to 2018. But after President Trump hit China with a 25% tariff on exports, lobster sales dropped more than $16 million between 2018 and 2019.

Then came COVID-19…

The global crisis rocked an already shell-shocked industry, as restaurants and fisheries nationwide reported unfathomable losses.

coronavirus seafood industry
Tim Walsh

“We’re 80% off of where we need to be to break even,” Peter Ramsden, the owner of New Bedford’s Foley Fish Company, told the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, local fishmongers are frantically weighing future options.

Division of Marine Fisheries Acting Director Daniel McKiernan told the Cape Cod Times that 70% of all seafood sold in Massachusetts is eaten in restaurants.

Scores of lauded local landmarks like Turk’s Seafood in Mattapoisett Sullivan’s at Castle Island are closed, while some restaurants and markets are rallying their skeleton crews and doing takeout and/or delivery for customers marooned inside their homes. Stalwarts like  Jake’s Seafood on Nantasket Beach, the Clam Box of Ipswich, Woodman’s of Essex, and Plum Isle Grille are offering their catches curbside. In Quincy, the Lobster Stop is offering free delivery to anyone within a seven-mile radius.

Overall, the future of fishing is unclear. For the short term, the Bay State has a list of retailers that are currently open and providing local and domestic seafood. Looking out at the horizon, it’s hard for anyone to tell if the pandemic can be weathered, even considering the nearly-400 year old industry has survived hard harvests before.

“We just have to wait and see once we start setting traps again,” Walsh said. “Right now, the virus is completely killing the industry.”

There is obviously no way for a crew to properly engage in social distancing on deck, leaving workers like Walsh between the dock and a hard place.

“My friends are saying, ‘Stay home, stay home.’ I don’t have that fucking option. I have no health insurance and unemployment. We’re self reliant by nature. I have to fix my boat, I have to go out there. I have to fish no matter what.”


This article is syndicated by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism’s Pandemic Democracy Project. Contact [email protected] for more information.

HELP DIGBOSTON WEATHER THIS STORM AND CONTINUE PROVIDING ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE

NATE HOMAN

Nate is a Boston-based reporter who has written for the Boston Phoenix, the Boston Metro, and DigBoston among other publications.

More from author
  • NATE HOMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nate-homan/
    “I’M NOT HOLDING YOUR COAT”: HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER PENS MASS MOSH PIT MEMOIR
  • NATE HOMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nate-homan/
    HOLD YOUR LUGNUTS: A RIGHT TO REPAIR AUTOMOTIVE OPERA IN SEVEN SCENES
  • NATE HOMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nate-homan/
    coronavirus homelessness
    MEET THE CREW TURNING DORMS INTO SHELTERS DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS
  • NATE HOMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nate-homan/
    tattoo artists coronavirus
    INK RUNS DRY: TATTOO ARTISTS FEAR SIGNIFICANT HIT FROM CORONAVIRUS

Filed Under: COVID, Eats, News, News to Us Tagged With: coronavirus, COVID, eats, news, news to us, slider

WHAT’S NEW

Aerial View Parkman Bandstand at Boston Common. CC BY-SA 4.0 2017 by AbhiSuryawanshi.

NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM

IT'S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT'S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT?

IT’S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT’S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT?

ON NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION, PROTESTERS CALL FOR EVICTION MORATORIUM

ON NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION, PROTESTERS CALL FOR EVICTION MORATORIUM

WU AND CAMPBELL TO SPEAK AT MAYORAL CANDIDATE WEBINAR

WU AND CAMPBELL TO SPEAK AT MAYORAL CANDIDATE WEBINAR

Hard right wingers casually tour the Capitol during last week's attack. Via C-SPAN.

HOW TO DEFEAT THE HARD RIGHT

BAKER URGED TO SIGN GAME CHANGING CLIMATE BILL

BAKER URGED TO SIGN GAME CHANGING CLIMATE BILL

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE by MARC LEVY
  • VIDEO: COP WHO BRAGGED THAT HE HIT PROTESTERS SHOWS HOW BAD APPLES THRIVE IN BOSTON by CHRIS FARAONE
  • STATE LOOKS TO SPEND $75K TO PREVENT FUTURE STORROWINGS by DAN ATKINSON
  • IT’S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT’S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT? by ZACK HUFFMAN
  • INSIDE THE FIGHT TO DOCUMENT THE HORRORS AT AMERICA’S OLDEST WOMEN’S PRISON by SHELBY GREBBIN AND ISHA MARATHE

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

Footer

digbos

Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this lat Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this latest incarnation of a #beer that’s been in the making for months. https://digboston.com/video-jacks-abby-x-boston-celtics-pride-and-parquet-hoppy-lager-unboxing-tasting/ #fun #video #review #Boston #Massachusetts
Jostling for position and influence are the disadv Jostling for position and influence are the disadvantaged candidates, existing industry participants, and municipalities … https://digboston.com/the-road-to-home-delivery-pt-5-dogs-in-the-fight-identifying-the-players/ #cannabis #politics #analysis #Massachusetts
The candidates will be interviewed about the upcom The candidates will be interviewed about the upcoming race. https://digboston.com/wu-and-campbell-to-speak-at-mayoral-candidate-webinar/ #politics #mayor #campaign #Boston #Massachusetts
Participants took to the streets in the hope of sw Participants took to the streets in the hope of swaying the Biden administration. https://digboston.com/on-national-day-of-action-protesters-call-for-eviction-moratorium/ #housing #justice #protest #national #Boston #Massachusetts
“They refuse to respond to this humanitarian cri “They refuse to respond to this humanitarian crisis where people really need them. We’re just ignoring this problem and it’s getting worse and worse.” https://digboston.com/its-harder-than-ever-to-find-a-bathroom-in-boston-whats-the-city-doing-about-it/ #politics #unhoused #homeless #bathroom #public #health #Boston #Massachusetts
Environmental #justice and #climate change advocat Environmental #justice and #climate change advocates are pushing for its passage. https://digboston.com/baker-urged-to-sign-game-changing-climate-bill/ #environment #globalwarming #legislation #politics #Massachusetts
In short, it’s amazing. For details, check the # In short, it’s amazing. For details, check the #video … https://digboston.com/video-night-shifts-tea-party-is-subtle-love-for-people-who-hate-most-hard-teas/ #review #fun #beer @NightShiftBeer
HOW TO DEFEAT THE HARD RIGHT: Some thoughts on the HOW TO DEFEAT THE HARD RIGHT: Some thoughts on the Capitol attack and building a more democratic nation. The latest from DigBoston's @jasonpramas. https://digboston.com/how-to-defeat-the-hard-right/ #democracy #politics #Capitol #US #America #attack #Biden #Trump #grassroots #movement #analysis #strategy #MAGA
“Should Mayor Walsh be confirmed by the Senate, “Should Mayor Walsh be confirmed by the Senate, I am ready to take the reins and lead our city through these difficult times.” https://digboston.com/walsh-to-wash-janey-to-become-1st-black-boston-mayor-1st-woman-to-lead-city/ #politics #Boston #Massachusetts #BlackLivesMatter
APPOINTED #SOMERVILLE #OFFICIAL SPURS #OUTRAGE WIT APPOINTED #SOMERVILLE #OFFICIAL SPURS #OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC #MOB SCENE: Mayor Curtatone says “We’re taking it seriously and doing our due diligence” https://digboston.com/appointed-somerville-official-spurs-outrage-with-tweets-from-dc-mob-scene/ #politics #controversy #Massachusetts #Capitol #Congress #WashingtonDC #MAGA #Trump
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]