PROTECTING OUR CREWS & COMMUNITIES

Proud to Feed the World

American Seafoods is committed to helping people eat nutritious, sustainable meals – no matter the circumstances. The global outbreak of COVID-19 drives home the importance of our mission. We continue fishing as an essential business, as defined by Homeland Security and Washington state, as the work we do is vital for the health of the country.

To continue fishing, we have worked closely with medical, marine, and governmental agencies to design and execute new procedures for our fishing seasons. These include quarantining and testing all crew members and enhanced safety protocols on board.

Community Support

This virus has wrought hardship on all of us. In support of people struggling with hunger and food insecurity, we have donated nearly 28,000 servings of 100% Wild Alaska Pollock to communities hit hardest by COVID-19. American Seafoods also donated 37,000 lbs. of Wild Alaska Pollock to the At-sea Processor Association’s Community Catch program this year.

"Our promise to the world is we feed people better food sourced from a better place,” said Mikel Durham, CEO of American Seafoods. “Many people are facing unprecedented financial burdens because of COVID-19, and that means more people are going hungry. We are committed to helping the world get through this crisis one meal at a time.”

In our home town of Seattle, we donated 2,300 portions of Wild Alaska Pollock to Operation Sack Lunch. OSL provides high quality meals to people struggling with hunger, as well as other services like COVID-19 quarantine shelters.

In New York City, one of the places hit hardest by COVID-19 in the world, we donated 25,600 servings of Wild Alaska Pollock to City Harvest, New York City's largest food rescue organization. Their fleet of 22 trucks are on the road every day delivering fresh, healthy food to New Yorkers in need. American Seafoods' donations will go through City Harvest to help organizations such as the Harding Ford Vision Pantry, Migrant Kitchen, Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, and Open Door Family Life Center.

Read the full story here.

Frequently Asked Questions About COVID-19

American Seafoods is committed to the health and safety of our crew, employees, and the communities we operate in. It is our top priority. We have a "Fit for Duty" requirement for our crew and this year we added new COVID-19 related testing and screening procedures for all crew prior to departure. Those include:

  • Quarantine, Testing and Screening
    All new crew members are quarantined for a minimum of 14 days before boarding their vessels.

    Quarantined crew members undergo 2 nasal swab PCR tests, administered on different days, to test for COVID-19. Test results take approximately 24 hours. Only individuals with two negative PCR tests are allowed to board the already disinfected vessels.

  • Cleaning/Isolation Preparation
    Each vessel undergoes an enhanced cleaning procedure prior to crew boarding. While at sea, enhanced cleaning procedures continue.

    Each vessel has isolation space to separate someone with signs or symptoms of a COVID-like illness. Special attention has been given to airflow to and from these isolation rooms.

  • At Sea Precautions
    Each vessel follows protocols to mitigate the spread of any illness aboard. These protocols include continuing to closely monitor crew members after they board, wearing face coverings in common areas, new galley procedures, and no-contact off-load operations and supply replenishment.

  • Caring for crew members who show signs or symptoms of COVID-19 at sea
    Each of our vessels has a plan in place to ensure that on-board crew receive appropriate care in the event of a potential infection. The vessel is equipped with an isolation room and a supply of medical equipment that is appropriate for a COVID-19 response. This includes surgical and N95 masks, protective gowns, face shields or goggles, thermometers, pulse oximeters, and medication. Additionally, we have telemedicine capabilities so that our on-board safety teams can receive real-time guidance and advice from onshore medical professionals, if needed.

  • Informing our communities
    The U.S. Coast Guard and CDC are notified according to agency requirements. COVID-19 protocols are followed when crew members show signs of illness. Those crew members are carefully assessed in consultation with telemedical providers to determine the course of care and protection.

    Every effort is made to separate an infected individual from members of the general public. If the individual is transferred from the vessel to a local medical facility, appropriate protection measures like wearing PPE are taken and the facility is notified in advance that the patient may have COVID-19. If the individual does not require hospitalization, that person will be quarantined for further testing in a pre-designated location where special precautions have been established.

A. Before beginning the current fishing season, we closely coordinated with state and local health authorities to develop screening and testing protocols to help protect our crew and people in the communities and ports where we do business. Those agencies have included: Alaska Department of Health & Social Services, Washington State Department of Health, City of Unalaska and Iliuliuk Family and Health Services, Public Health—Seattle & King County, the ports of Dutch Harbor, Seattle, and Bellingham, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the University of Washington. Throughout this process, we also monitor guidance coming from the CDC.

A. The Food and Drug administration has stated on several occasions that food and food packaging have not been associated with transmission of COVID-19, and there is no reason to be concerned about transmission of the virus from food. Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasizes the FDA finding.