Small-scale fisheries are important for the food security of the United States. Yet relief measures during the COVID-19 pandemic favour industrial operators, and are unsustainable. When the global COVID-19 pandemic hit the US in March 2020, no one knew for certain what it would mean for the seafood industry, let alone small- to mid-scale fishing operations. With most restaurants, hotels and catering services forced to shut down or drastically curtail operations, and with the complete shutdown of schools and universities, the demand for seafood reduced by nearly 80 per cent. Alongside this, transportation restrictions to stem the tide of the virus broke the supply chains of fishing operations.