COVID-19 struck seafood producers with a quick and heavy blow. With the vast majority of seafood purchases, by value, essentially wiped off the table with restaurants closing, where were producers to turn? Many became innovative, creating and trying new sales and distribution methods to maintain cash flow and sell their product. Despite the arrival of COVID, their products kept growing, and they needed to be sold.
The Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA), in partnership with FocusMaine, NOAA, and Sea Grant, has interviewed a network of seafood distributors across Maine, New England, and the U.S. , and reviewed news and academic articles to analyze the effects of COVID-19 on the seafood supply chain, and how producers reacted. MAA released a guide in the winter of 2021 on aquaculture sales and distribution methods in Maine , highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of both longstanding and new methods.
This will serve as the foundation for the NOAA-Sea Grant funded work in progress with Dr. Kanae Tokunaga, Dr. Caroline Noblet, Dr. Keith Evans, Sam Belknap, Keri Kaczor , Giselle Sillsby, and Allissa Miller-Gonzalez, which will explore, on a broader scale and in much greater detail, the new normal of seafood distribution in the U.S. and updated consumer preferences, using Maine as a case study for how to capitalize on seafood supply chain synergies and consumer tastes to expand Maine’s aquaculture and seafood markets.