Podcast On the Half Shell: Shellfish Growers Face the Pain of Covid-19

Did you know that about 80% of shellfish consumed in America is eaten in restaurants and commercial establishments?  Few of us grab a dozen oysters or mussels on the way home from work.  It's not the American style.   This week, Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham welcome to the show Margaret Pilaro, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, and her compatriot and colleague, Bob Rheault, who heads up the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association.  These two friends have been on the frontlines of one of America's key coastal industries for years and right now their members are being hammered.  The show kicks off with Nicole Faghin, Chair of the National Working Waterfront Network, and we learn about the state of America's working shorelines, the Network, and we set the table for the discussion with Margaret and Bob.   It's an important show about coastal communities and the shellfish growers, most of whom are mom and pop operations with fewer than ten employees.  With the near complete and overnight collapse of the shellfish market, truckloads of oysters and other valuable shellfish have been dumped into landfills.  It's a tough time but there is a grit to these shellfish folks and there is a lot to this industry.  One of the best interviews we've done in awhile.  Check it out today.  Only on ASPN, The Voice of the Coastal Community!