Rising wages, labor shortages, energy and waste cutting initiatives, and the basic need to get product out the door to customers are driving moves towards automation in the seafood industry, executives said during an National Fisheries Institute (NFI) Webinar in February.

The onset of the global coronavirus pandemic has deeply underscored how important reliable labor is, particularly when employees are ill, leading companies across many industries to look to automation as hedge or protection in these uncertain times, said The Fishin' Company COO Heath England.