More than 60 Newport-based fishermen are scheduled to finish coronavirus testing Monday as part of a pilot project to help vessels in the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative safely begin the Pacific whiting (hake) season Friday.
The COVID-19 testing project is the first of its kind on the Oregon coast. If successful in safeguarding crews aboard the cooperative’s 29 vessels, organizers hope it can be used by other Oregon coast fishing or seafood processors, which are expecting an influx of workers.
After testing, fishermen have agreed to be quarantined in their homes until boarding their vessels. Testing is being done at Samaritan Health Services clinic in Depoe Bay with kits provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Lincoln County Public Health. The Oregon State Public Health Laboratory will pick up the specimens for testing at its Portland lab, with results expected in two days.
The majority of the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative fleet is based in Newport. They fish on the West Coast and make up a large part of the distant water fleet fishing for pollock, cod and groundfish in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.
“Commercial fishing is deemed essential, but the uncommon logistics of fishing can be at odds with social distancing measures during this unprecedented time,” cooperative executive director Heather Mann said in a news release announcing the project. “Ensuring our crew members are healthy before embarking on at-sea trips, where the working space is tight, is a critical piece to ensuring we are able to continue delivering a healthy protein source for the nation at the same time we support rural coastal economies.”
Two seafood processing plants in Astoria closed last week after 26 of its 200 workers tested positive for COVID-19.
Through Sunday, Samaritan has conducted 750 COVID-19 tests in Lincoln County since mid-March. Six county residents have tested positive, but one of those was detected and treated while the patient was out of the area.
Pacific whiting are available through the summer and is typically Oregon’s largest fishery by volume, according to the Oregon Employment Department. More than 222 million pounds were landed in 2019, but because of the volume brought only about 10 cents a pound to fishing vessels.
Whiting is used to make surimi, which in turn is used to make imitation “crab” or “lobster” meat and requires very controlled processing and rapid cleaning and handling of the fish. This means that surimi processors must hire many seasonal employees.