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The scallop industry has been growing steadily over the last few years, valued at over $500 million. But the coronavirus spread has brought it to a halt, mostly because restaurants are no longer buying.
New Bedford scallop fisherman Eric Hansen says there’s usually an influx of landings when the season starts but the coronavirus spread has changed everything.
“I’m questioning myself whether I’m going to make a trip or wait to see if maybe there are restaurants open and a demand starts again,” Hansen said. “But right now everything is in flux.”
Hansen noted he’s worried about whether it’ll be safe to send his crew out during the crisis.
“There is no place to quarantine on a fishing vessel,” Hansen said, as crew members share rooms in very tight quarters. “So it’s pretty much guaranteed that if one person gets ill the whole crew will get ill.”
The federal government has earmarked $300 million in the recent stimulus package to assist commercial fishermen affected by the pandemic.
