As coronavirus spreads its grip jobs in New Zealand are on the line during what's normally the best time of year for the crayfish industry.
Now, officials are starting to work on what to do next amid fears the uncertainty could last for months.
“It will be financial, and potentially will affect jobs as well,” the Iwi Collective Partnership’s Maru Samuels said.
The lunar new year celebrated in China normally leads to the highest crayfish prices of the year.
"That hasn't happened this year. That's not a good thing," Takitimu Seafoods’ Taine Randell said.
However, the lockdowns in China are causing crayfish to be locked out of the market.
“With the Chinese market closing, it's basically stopped all fishing for crayfish at the moment,” Mr Samuels said.
The industry is worth $320 million, and no one wants any of its 2,000 jobs on the chopping block.
The Office for Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash is "concerned about the issue and the potential impact on the industry," and officials are readying advice.
Fisheries New Zealand told 1 NEWS it's working with the industry and reviewing their options.
“Real uncertainty at the moment. No one really knows what's happening with the coronavirus,” Mr Randall said.
“It's a hiccup, what's happened at the moment, so we need to find a pretty good, reasonable solution.”
“The full impact is really going to come down to how long the China market remains closed, but at the moment, we don't have any fishermen out there catching crayfish,” Mr Samuels added.
In the meantime, Kiwi consumers will benefit from cheaper prices.
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