The Groundfish Forum, one of the most elite gatherings of top whitefish executives in seafood, will not take place this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the organizers announced.

It was due to be the first time the event would take place on American soil, in Seattle.

The organizers said the event will resume October 12 -14, 2021 and will be held in Seattle. he statement from the organizers.

Seattle is home to the world's largest Alaska pollock producers, including Trident Seafoods, American Seafoods, Glacier Fish, Arctic Storm, Aleutian Spray and the headquarters of key US subsidiaries of Japanese companies such as Nippon Suisan Kaisha (Nissui), Maruha Nichiro and Nichirei.

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Groundfish Forum attendees -- which typically number around 300 -- are selected primarily from top executives in the global whitefish sector.

The conference is normally held once a year and the first event was held in Hamburg, Germany, in October 1992. Last year’s event was in Berlin.

The primary aims of the forum are to increase understanding of conditions in the groundfish industry, exchange information regarding government resource and other decisions, and provide better opportunities for all industry participants and consumers.