By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Eric Burcaw Sr. practiced social distancing long before the term flashed into the public’s consciousness during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Sea Isle City-based commercial fisherman is used to venturing miles out into the ocean – far, far away from everyone else except for his boat crew.
“With our big boats, we go out to the Continental Shelf, 80 to 100 miles out. It’s usually three or four days.”
But now, Burcaw is stuck on land. The last time he was out on the water was March 10.
The three boats owned by Burcaw, 54, and his 59-year-old brother, Robert, are tied to the dock in Sea Isle instead of plying the ocean hunting for lobster, crab, tuna, swordfish, black sea bass and other seafood. Their business partner, Tim Getz, has another boat sitting idle in North Carolina.
The Burcaws are among scores of commercial fishing operators along the East Coast virtually shut down by the COVID-19 outbreak. With the seafood markets and restaurant industry severely limited by the virus, they have lost much of their customer base. Sales have plummeted.
“We just don’t have a market,” Eric Burcaw said bluntly.
Making it even more difficult, seafood prices have plunged, too. Even if Burcaw could sell his catch, the revenue wouldn’t cover the expense of running his fleet of boats.
“It’s not even enough to make it worthwhile,” he explained.
For example, swordfish is selling for around $1 per pound now instead of the usual $5 or $6. Instead of getting $3 per pound for sea bass, Burcaw would be lucky to get around 50 cents or $1, he noted.
The 72-foot "Two Dukes" lobster boat is part of the Burcaw family's temporarily sidelined fleet in Sea Isle City.
As he remains stuck at the dock, Burcaw ponders the worst crisis he has seen in his nearly 35 years of commercial fishing. He also worries about the impact on his daughter, Rachel Marie, and sons, Eric Jr. and Kevin, who are part of the family owned business that was started in 1965 by his father, Bob “Capt. Bob” Burcaw.
“I think it’s going to be a tough summer,” Burcaw said in an interview Sunday. “I’m very nervous how it’s going to end up this summer.”
Burcaw is prepared to ride out the shutdown, noting that he has the benefit of decades of experience and the strong ties he has established throughout the industry. But he believes that less-established commercial fishing operators may have to fold.
“I feel bad for someone who just got into the industry,” he said.
Typically, April 1 is the start of Burcaw’s prime fishing season. With the approach of Easter, Burcaw and other commercial fishing operators are losing out on the normally big demand for seafood during Lent.
“Easter enhances the market we sell to. This is the biggest month for people to eat seafood and here we are tied to the dock,” Burcaw lamented. “It’s like not being able to sell Christmas presents in December.”
He added, “The whole thing is a nightmare right now.”
Next up is the lucrative lobster season starting in May and continuing through Thanksgiving. Burcaw, though, noted that his local buyer for lobster is currently at a standstill.
So for the time being, the Burcaw fleet is going nowhere. The boats include the 72-foot “Two Dukes” and the 46-foot “Rachel Marie,” both owned by Burcaw and his brother, Robert. In addition, Robert owns another boat, the 75-foot “Capt. Bob.”
The 75-foot "Capt. Bob" is another major vessel in the Burcaw family fishing operation.
The Burcaw brothers and their business partner, Tim Getz, also own the Bob’s Dock operation in Sea Isle’s historic Fish Alley waterfront district along 42nd Place. They are losing out on other revenue such as boat fuel sales because the dock is shut down now.
While waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to finally subside, Eric Burcaw now finds himself practicing another form of social distancing – the type on land, not the type he’s used to far out on the ocean.
“I think we’ll be good for a little bit, but all this sitting around is not for me,” he said.
