WASHINGTON, DC June 25, 2020 — The National Fisheries Institute is pleased to see federal regulators working together to create important guidance to protect workers at seafood facilities and provide guidance for employers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognize seafood is an important part of the U.S. economy and fish production facilities are essential to the Nation’s critical infrastructure. With the Food and Drug Administration, CDC and OSHA have released guidance designed to help keep seafood workers and food safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guidance supplements general guidance already issued by the public health and worker safety agencies.

The seafood industry specific guidance reiterates that seafood-processing workers are not exposed to the disease through the fish and seafood products they handle. It provides useful tools to minimize hazards for workers who come in relatively close contact with each other and may raise exposure risk factors.

The guidance reviews screening, quarantining and testing of both onshore and offshore employees and is in keeping with the best practices recognized by the industry for COVID-prevention controls.

John Connelly
President

Contact Information

Gavin Gibbons
(703) 752-8891
ggibbons@nfi.org