Recent Adjustments in Northeast US Fresh Groundfish and Scallop Processing and Marketing

• Main Authors: Georgianna, Daniel, Lee, Min-Yang
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English; unknown
• Published: North American Association of Fisheries Economists
• Subjects: Fisheries > Economic aspects > Congresses; Sustainable fisheries > Congresses; Canada; Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/conference_proceedings_or_journals/tm70mw475

The North Atlantic U.S. groundfish and scallop processing industries are a tale of two fisheries. The groundfish processing industry has suffered a steep, almost continual decline in landings starting in 1984 that resulted in 2014 landings that were only 16% of 1983 landings. US scallop landings increased from 5 million mt in 1998 to 30 mill mt in 2004, remaining around that peak until 2012. Both processing industries had to adjust: groundfish processors had to find new sources of fresh groundfish and other products to fill customers’ orders and scallop processors had to find new customers to buy its surplus product. This study used interviews with processors and data on landings, imports and exports to examine the marketing strategies of these processing industries to adjust to trends in landings and to evaluate their success within the confines the US Magnuson-Stevens Act. After imported whole groundfish from Canada were eliminated as substitutes for local landings, groundfish processors increased diversification of products as substitute for fresh groundfish to fill their customers’ orders, scouring the world for products such as Pacific cod, other groundfish, and some pelagic species. They also skipped the wholesale market to sell direct to retailers and restaurants. Not all succeeded, processing plants declined by almost half since 1990. Scallop processors successfully developed new markets for scallops, through exports and IQF packing for restaurants. The doubling of ex-vessel scallop prices, adjusted for inflation, since 2000 shows their success, which also supports processors’ claims that steady increasing supply improves product sales. Keywords: Fisheries’ Shoreside Support - the Forgotten Sector, Fisheries Economics, Markets and Trade Keywords: Fisheries’ Shoreside Support - the Forgotten Sector, Fisheries Economics, Markets and Trade