Saving Seafood

Struggling fishermen and hungry Mainers have found a way to help each other through the pandemic

November 19, 2020 — The first rays of yellow light slashed through the indigo gloom Monday morning while the city awoke and rubbed its eyes. All was still quiet up the hill in the business district, but down on the docks the day was already humming. By 6:30 a.m., a hardy, rubber-booted crew of workmen were on a smoke break after unloading their first boat of the day at the Fish Exchange. They still had two boats — and more than 10,000 pounds of ice-packed fish — to go.

It’s cold, hard, slimy work but they welcomed it. Business has been more than slow.

Under current pandemic pressures, the Portland Fish Exchange and the state’s groundfishing fleet are struggling to survive. Fish prices have bottomed out, forcing some boats to stay docked. At the same time, droves of newly hungry Mainers are facing coronavirus-induced economic hardships and asking their local food pantries for help. With uncaught fish at sea and famished people on land, the situation is a mismatched, ironic tragedy.

But the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association has a plan to help.

Armed with an anonymous, $200,000 grant, it’s buying fish before it hits the auction and donating the catch to local schools and food banks. The move helps keep auction prices steady while also making hard-to-find, healthy protein available to folks who need it most.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Maine fishermen worried that protections for whales will damage industry

November 10, 2020 — Maine’s fishermen are concerned about potential closure of fishing grounds under new federal rules being considered for right whale protections.

“Anytime you talk about closing areas, there are profound impacts to the fishing communities and the ecosystem,” Ben Martens, Executive Director of The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA) told The Center Square.

“You could put it in an area that could decimate an entire community.”

Maine Public Radio recently posted documents from the Maine Department of Marine Resources (MDMR), including a letter from MDMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher that details concerns about closing Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMA) to fishing.

“These lobster zones are among the most productive and lucrative areas in the Maine lobster fishery,” Keliher wrote.

Read the full story at The Center Square

Maine company recycles fishermen’s bibs into bags, clothing, other products

October 8, 2020 — From bibs into bags, a Maine company is recycling the heavy-duty rubber bibs worn by fishermen into a line of products.

“I want to find a way, and these bibs might be the way to connect people to this industry,” Rugged Seas co-owner Taylor Strout said.

Strout and his wife Nikki Strout have known the fishing industry their entire lives.

“I wanted to create a product that when people came, and they visited the coast of Maine, that they could not only take something home with them, but leave something for the fishermen too,” Taylor Strout said.

Through their company, Rugged Seas, the Strouts make a line of merchandise that includes tote bags, backpacks, wallets and clothing.

Nearly all of them are made from discarded rubber bibs donated by fishermen.

Read the full story at WMTW

Maine scallop fishermen secure important access to northern Gulf of Maine resources

October 2, 2020 — Three years ago, the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA) began working with fishermen and local businesses to improve scallop management and give a voice to scallop fishermen on important regulatory issues. As a result of the work from these efforts, at a virtual meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council Oct. 1, the Council voted in favor of regulations that protect both the scallop resource and the smaller Northern New England scallop fishing businesses.

The outcome of the meeting ensures that there will be a scientifically set limit on scallops harvested from the Gulf of Maine and meaningful investments in science and accountability to ensure the resource continues to grow.

The Council also voted to set aside a portion of catch specifically for the federally permitted smaller fishing businesses from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The scallop set aside will allow for preferential access for the small boats within this area and create stability for the small-boat fleet moving forward.

Read the full story at the Wiscasset Newspaper

Fishermen have mixed thoughts on increased groundfish monitoring

September 28, 2020 — After returning home for a hot meal and quick snooze following three days alone at sea, Randy Cushman wakes up at 3:30 a.m. to begin the final steps of his fish and data processing in the sleepy, pine-lined fishing village of Port Clyde.

Cushman took his first two-day groundfishing trip out of this harbor with his father when he was five years old. Now, over 40 years later, Cushman counts and prepares fish all morning with his wife — who is also his business partner — to get hundreds of pounds of fish ready for local markets.

Once the fish are sorted, Cushman’s final step is to mail a hard drive containing video of what he caught and discarded during his trip for review. Cushman’s 50-foot boat — the Ella Christine — was one of the three Maine vessels that six years ago spearheaded what’s been the longest electronic monitoring project in New England.

The project, designed to prevent overfishing in the region’s waters, includes more than 30 boats across New England. It was born from a collaboration between the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, The Nature Conservancy, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Ecotrust Canada. It allows fishermen to use cameras strapped to their ships to track landings and discards, instead of human observers.

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Pilot

Maine lobstermen prepare for uncertain summer season, hoping for further federal relief

July 28, 2020 — More than 1,300 lobstermen in Maine – about 1 in 3 – received forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), with the majority amounting to roughly $10,900.

It may not be enough to sustain fishermen through an already uncertain summer amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, told the Portland Press Herald.

“A lot of people got very small loans that helped in the short term, at the start of the crisis, but now the crisis is dragging on and lobstering season hasn’t even really started,” Martens said.

New data from the U.S. Small Business Administration shows that altogether, Maine’s lobster industry received roughly $24 million in PPP funding, the most given to any business concern in the state; dine-in restaurants, beauty salons, real estate, and home building received the next highest amounts.

While the bulk of the fishing sector money – nearly $15 million – went to fishermen, some dealers, retailers and processors received loans between $150,000 and $1 million.

Read the full story at The Center Square

PPP loans helped buoy Maine’s lobster industry through the spring

July 22, 2020 — Maine lobster businesses, both large and small, received emergency funding through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program to help them survive the economic crisis wrought by the coronavirus’ global spread this spring.

The lobstering sector was the top recipient in Maine of forgivable PPP loans of less than USD 150,000 (EUR 130,000), with around USD 14.9 million (EUR 12.9 million) offered to 1,358 Maine lobstermen, according to the Portland Press Herald. But the average loan to lobster fishermen was USD 10,900 (EUR 9,400) each, a total that won’t help many survive the season if low dock prices and weak export markets continue, according to Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

1 in 3 Maine lobstermen lands federal pandemic loan

July 20, 2020 — Maine lobstermen reeled in more small federal emergency loans under the Paycheck Protection Program than members of any other industry in Maine, with about one out of every three commercial lobstermen landing one, but the average loan was barely large enough to cover a month’s worth of bait at the height of the summer fishing season.

About $14.9 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, loans of less than $150,000 have been handed out to 1,358 Maine lobstermen, according to an analysis of newly released U.S. Small Business Administration data. That puts lobstermen ahead of full-service restaurants, real estate offices, beauty salons and home builders, which rounded out the top five Maine industries receiving small PPP loans.

But the high participation rate didn’t net Maine lobstermen a lot of money, with the average small PPP loan to lobster fishermen working out to be just $10,900 each, data show. By comparison, full-service restaurants got $53,500. Home builders, $30,000. It didn’t get better when the loans got bigger: Only two lobstering companies got large loans of more than $150,000.

“A lot of people got very small loans that helped in the short term, at the start of the crisis, but now the crisis is dragging on and lobstering season hasn’t even really started,” said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. “Ten grand is nice if you’re struggling, but not enough if you’re suffering.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

BEN MARTENS: Federal COVID response a missed opportunity to help Maine fishermen

June 26, 2020 — President Trump’s recent roundtable meeting with fishermen in Bangor was a unique opportunity to bring national attention to COVID-19’s catastrophic impact on fishing communities here in Maine and around the country. Most Americans are unaware of the devastation the crisis has inflicted on fishing economies, which support 40,000 jobs in Maine and 1.5 million jobs in the United States. The president’s visit put a spotlight on Maine’s fishermen for a brief moment during this time of crisis.

What resulted from this meeting was the opening of a national marine monument south of Cape Cod to additional commercial fishing, and the creation of a yet-to-be-defined fisheries task force. While significant, this action does not address the underlying economic challenge facing Maine fishermen because of the pandemic – the collapse of domestic and international demand for seafood.

Roughly three-quarters of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is eaten at restaurants. With restaurants closed or severely constrained, prices and demand have dropped dramatically – close to 70 percent for many New England species. As families struggled to find healthy, affordable food, fishermen were being told not to go fishing. Seafood is one of the healthiest food choices you can make for your mind, body and the environment. More access to heathy food should be our shared priority. Unfortunately, the pandemic has illuminated the cracks in our national food system, meaning that now is the time to invest in comprehensive solutions to protect local, sustainable seafood for our nation.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

SEAFOOD PRICES REFLECT A COMPLEX SUPPLY CHAIN

June 25, 2020 — As restaurants and other foodservice operations began shutting down in March, the demand for seafood plummeted.

“The fishing industry is foodservice dependent, so once the demand decreased, the fishermen stopped going out in their boats,” says Barton Seaver, a Maine-based chef and lead educator for seafoodliteracy.com.

“About 75% of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is sold by restaurants,” confirms Ben Martens, executive director of Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, a nonprofit that supports sustainability and community-based fishermen.

Now that restaurants are reopening, it’s taking a while for the fresh supply to get back up to speed, leading to higher prices. Smaller fisheries and dayboat fleets that typically supply higher-end restaurants were told by wholesalers not to go out fishing during the pandemic. At the Portland Fish Exchange in Maine, prices were down by 34% as late as May, says Martens. Although fishermen were struggling economically, they were getting killed by low prices at the docks.

Read the full story at Restaurant Business