The 40th edition of the massive Seafood Expo North America, which draws attendees and exhibitors from around the world, is the latest victim of the novel coronoavirus.
After weeks of speculation and uncertainty under the lurking specter of the spreading and potentially deadly virus, the Portland, Maine-based organizer of the show announced Tuesday it is postponing the three-day seafood trade show while it explores other options.
“We are committed to finding a solution to deliver an event in North America, this year, to ensure business continuity to the seafood industry,” Diversified Communications, the organizer, said in announcing the postponement. “Details on when and where will be communicated with our customers in the next month. Depending on the date and location availability, the event might look slightly different for 2020 but will continue to provide the opportunities to connect suppliers and buyers in the industry.”
Diversified, in its statement, did not commit to hosting the 2020 event in Boston, nor did it offer practical alternatives or address the economics of postponing the show.
The massive Seafood Expo North America was scheduled to run March 15 to 17 at the sprawling convention center in South Boston.
But with less than a fortnight to go, global fears of the spreading and potentially deadly COVID-19 virus began cutting into the roster of exhibitors.
According to the Diversified Communications website and reports from various news outlets, almost two dozen exhibitors withdrew in the past week including several U.S.-based companies over concerns of potentially exposing workers to the potentially deadly virus.
“Our primary concern is for our employee base, and the fact that this show is essentially in our own backyard, which further expands the liability to the local community as a whole,” Joe Furtado, executive vice president at New Bedford-based Eastern Fisheries, told the Undercurrentnews website, which had opted to sit out the Seafood Expo North America. “So we are asking our customers to understand this concern, and know that we are doing everything that we can to ensure that there will be no disruptions in our supply chain to them.”
2020 Gloucester Daily Times