When a major stock has lost its way and a company has to buy it back, it can be a time of crisis.
And the situation in the seafood industry is especially acute.
The industry, with over 80% of its seafood products manufactured in the U.S., is struggling to keep pace with demand from China.
It’s also grappling with changes in the supply chain, with fish imports from Japan falling, while those from the U, European Union, and other countries increasing.
So when the stock crash of 2007-2008 hit, the seafood market was hit especially hard.
With a lot of people losing their jobs, companies had to make tough decisions.
“At one point we had a couple of thousand employees,” said Scott Satterfield, president of the New York Fish & Seafood Market.
He said it was a “real wake-up call” for all the companies.
A lot of companies went to great lengths to get stock back on the market, but there were a lot more companies that were just stuck, like the New Brunswick-based Seafood Watch.
Its stock plunged by more than half by 2009.
Satterfield was able to save his company, but his family’s fishing business was also hit hard.
“I lost my father and my brother, and my husband, my wife, my kids,” he said.
We had to take a big hit in our business and we were able to keep our business going, but at the same time we lost so much stock.
For Satterfields family, the recession was a tough time, but it was also a good opportunity to try and get some fresh blood into the company.
Since then, SeafoodWatch has made a concerted effort to improve its business.
They’ve hired some experienced managers, as well as some experienced people from outside the industry to help run their operations.
There’s also a lot less demand for seafood in the market right now, as more people are opting to eat healthier.
At the same, the demand for fish from China has increased, and the seafood companies in the area are experiencing higher turnover.
In an effort to help keep the industry afloat, Seaforny has started a seafood business incubator program, to help others in the industry.
While there are many seafood companies that operate out of the same places, Seafounty is focusing on a handful of companies, which have made it their mission to keep their business afloat and improve.
These are companies that are in a better place now than when they first opened, and have been able to grow in a healthy way, said Scott Lauer, president and CEO of Seafoodwatch.
Each year Seafountys employees work at the site of their seafood operations to grow the seafood sector in New Jersey, so they can help to keep New Jersey’s seafood industry afloat.
On Friday, Seafowl Watch hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony at its facility in Bergen, NJ.
Lauer says Seafood watch has helped the industry stay afloat and help them survive the downturn.
You can see more pictures from the ribbon cutting here.
More on the Seafood industry: The latest news from the industry: