Claire Rankin, Richmond River Independent
Evans Head Fish Co-op may be forced to close temporarily because of covid, its chair Bill Litchfield said.
He was “extremely concerned” about how the snap lockdown has impacted the co-op and fishing industry.
The co-op must decide in the next couple of weeks whether to lay off some of its 25 full-time and part-time staff or “shut up shop” temporarily.
The situation will continue to be assessed as government lockdown restrictions change, Mr Litchfield said.
He was far from optimistic about the coming year, as he believed working families would be unable to afford holidays in the area.
Mr Litchfield operates Mako, the only working prawn trawler left in Evans Head.
A recent covid detection at the Sydney Fish Markets closed the massive outlet for a day.
Continuing detections would disrupt the fish supply chain and mean a considerable reduction in the amount of catch able to be sold, he said.
Prawn sales, for example, have fallen to about 10kg a day from about 50kg during the worst part of last year’s lockdown, he said.
Despite the lockdown, last year under a new board the Evans Head Fishermen’s Co-operative managed to turn a loss of about $50,000 into a small profit of $15,000.
Queensland border closures and government assistance such as Jobkeeper helped swell the numbers of NSW holiday makers with disposable income to buy takeaways and fast food.
The co-op has spent about $45,000 in the past year carrying out repairs to meet food and work safety standards.
“This year, it’s a totally different ball game,” he said.
With customer numbers at the co-op suddenly dropping drastically, “we are going backwards every day”, he said.
This article appeared in the Richmond River Independent, 25 August 2021.
