Rescheduled seafood show cancelled as Covid disruption continues
The re-arranged 2020 edition of Seafood Expo North America (SENA) has been cancelled due to the ongoing health and safety issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The event’s owner, Diversified Communications, made the announcement last night.
SENA was originally due to take place in Boston in March but was rescheduled for September 22-24 when the extent of the coronavirus outbreak became clear.
Great disappointment
“It is with great disappointment that we have to bring the news to our seafood community that we will not be able to meet in person in 2020,” said Diversified’s group vice president, Liz Plizga.
The company said that despite some re-opening measures nationally and locally, there were still far too many uncertainties about the impact Covid-19 will have on travel and mass gatherings by September. Accordingly, it was impossible to hold an event that would provide an experience the seafood community would find valuable.
Diversified said the 2021 edition of SENA, which will take place March 14-16 in Boston, is already off to a strong start with an 82% renewal rate proving the value of the event for the seafood industry.
Safe business platform
“We thank everyone in the industry, our vendors and partners for their continued support while navigating these difficult times,” said Plizga.
“We are determined to provide a valuable and safe business platform for the industry, and we look forward to bringing the seafood community back together next year in Boston.”
It has been a difficult year for Diversified. The US company was also forced to cancel Seafood Expo Global, the world’s biggest seafood trade show, which was due to be held in Brussels in April. Next year’s event will be the first in its new location of Barcelona.
Diversified’s subsidiary, Diversified Communications UK, bought the biennial Aquaculture UK trade show from Benchmark Holdings in February, but had to postpone the Aviemore event until September, and was then forced to abandon plans to hold it this year. It will be held in May next year instead.
The annual Aquaculture Awards ceremony was due to be held at Aquaculture UK, but winners will instead be announced via social media on Wednesday, September 16.
