'We'll just work harder' after Boston seafood show postponed, says P.E.I. company

The largest seafood trade event in North America has been postponed, leaving some P.E.I. participants with one less way to market their products.

Seafood Expo North America, which was formerly the Boston Seafood Show, was scheduled for March 15 to 17 in Boston, but announced Tuesday it would postpone the show due to concerns over potentially spreading the coronavirus.

"I'd have to say we are disappointed," said Esther Dockendorff, president and CEO of P.E.I. Mussel King in Morell, P.E.I., adding the company understands the circumstances and respects the decision expo organizers made.

Dockendorff has attended the Boston show every year for the past 35 years, and said the company always signs new deals to sell their products to buyers from around the world. It's also a chance to reconnect and solidify deals with existing customers, she said. 

She can't put a dollar figure on what P.E.I. Mussel King might lose if the show does not go ahead, but said they did have meetings set up with potential new buyers. 

The next large international seafood show is in Brusells in April. Dockendorff said she plans to attend and hopes to make up any lost business then. 

"We'll just work harder," she said.

COVID-19 has affected the company's sales to China, she said, which is "not a huge market for us, it was a growing market — it's stalled."

'Watching this closely'

"I think everyone's trying to do their responsible part in the containment of the virus. So that's their decision for this year, so we will support that," says Ian MacPherson, executive director of P.E.I. Fishermen's Association. 

A "good contingent" of Island companies and industry officials attend the event in Boston each year to promote their seafood and seafood-related products and services, MacPherson said. About a dozen Island companies have exhibited at the show in recent years.

Along with the Island and other Atlantic seafood representatives, global companies such as Amazon, Bento Sushi, Whole Foods Market and Walmart were to send buyers and representatives to the event. 

For a province such as P.E.I. which relies heavily on the fishing industry, the possible cancellation of the expo may not only be disappointing, but a potential blow to business. 

However, MacPherson said he is not dismayed — with the increasing use of technology and online transactions, the effect on business may not be as bad as it would have been a few years ago. 

"In the fishing sector, we're no different from any other sector — we're watching this closely," he said. "The important thing is to deal with this as things come and see where the future takes us." 

Diversified Communications, which mounts the show, said there are plans to hold the event later in 2020, somewhere in North America. The company said those details will be sent directly to customers in the next month.

Globally, there are 93,164 cases of COVID-19 and 3,199 deaths, according to WHO on Wednesday.

More from CBC P.E.I.