Pandemic, Changing Markets Pose Challenges for Bering Sea Fisheries
Harvesters who annually deliver millions of pounds of wild Alaska seafood from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are facing new challenges these days: an ongoing global pandemic that has perhaps forever changed the way they operate, and the industry’s markets themselves.
For a second consecutive season, groundfish and shellfish harvesters operating in these often stormy, icy waters are prioritizing their responsibility to keep their employees and the coastal communities they work in safe from the novel coronavirus, while continuing to operate in changing markets.
“The greatest challenge for 2021 is to continue to stay operational across multitudes of fisheries and communities across Alaska, while protecting those communities and our workforce from COVID-19, so that we can continue to...