Peter Pan Seafood has decided to pull out of Seafood Expo North America in Boston in March out of concern for the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases nationwide.
“With COVID-19 cases rising, we agreed that it is irresponsible to attend the seafood show in Boston this year,” chief growth officer Rodger May said on Tuesday, Jan. 11. “This is not an easy decision and it’s one we’ll lose money on – having already made meaningful investments to be at this year’s event, while rolling out our new look and brand. For us it boils down to what we’ve been saying all along – nothing is more important than the health and safety of our team, our partners and our loved ones.”
While attending Seafood Expo North America would be good for business, it is not worth putting employees’ partners or loved ones at risk, May said.
Last year, with more people getting vaccinated against the virus and the number of cases declining, the new owners of Peter Pan made a commitment to begin attending industry trade shows like the Boston event. Then came the surge of the omicron variant and thousands of new individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. In just one day, Jan. 10, the number of new cases approached 1.5 million people.
Current Peter Pan COVID-19 safety measures include required vaccinations for all employees and marks inside all facilities and mess halls. The seafood processor is operating all processing facilities as closed campuses. This means that once employees arrive on campus they can only leave for emergencies and all visitors are limited.
The vertically integrated company is owned by Rodger May of Northwest Fish Co., the Na’-NukInvestment Fund, LP – managed by McKinley Alaska Private Investment, LLC and McKinley Capital Management, LLC – and the RRG Global Partners Fund, managed by RRG Capital Management, LLC.