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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 4
December 2008
Editorial
Use synergy to boost prices, expand markets
In just about every fishery in the Northeast, there is an urgent need to do things differently. Along with the rest of the world, fishermen are finding that business as usual doesn’t work like it used to.
Terrific news about northern shrimp abundance and the rebuilt dogfish stock is dampened by uncertainty over who is going to buy all this product. Groundfish fishermen are so restricted by rules that it is vital they get every penny possible out of every pound of fish they land. And it is now painfully clear that lobstermen are harvesting more lobster than the market can currently absorb at a reasonable price.
These and other fisheries face huge challenges. It’s hard to change old habits, and it’s extremely difficult to restructure systems through which products flow from fishermen to dealers and processors to consumers. But these daunting problems may open doors to new opportunities.
One key to making positive change is getting everyone on the same page. There is nothing to be gained from disconnected efforts by multiple individuals and groups all trying to do the same thing. Fishermen, industry organizations, businesses, and state governments need to coordinate their efforts.
Maine Gov. John Baldacci’s decision to establish the “Task Force on the Economic Sustainability of Maine’s Lobster Industry” is a move in this direction, in theory anyway. Much of the task force’s success will depend on the effectiveness of the independent contractor it hires to evaluate market strategies and operations. The task force also needs to be keenly aware of what’s going on in Canada both in terms of fishing effort and processing.
If participants take their charge to heart, the task force should become an opportunity for those involved in the Maine industry to work together for a common purpose: finding ways all along the supply chain to more efficiently use – and benefit from – the lobster resource.
The subject of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for dogfish, striped bass, and lobster recently came up in Massachusetts. MSC certification to prove a fishery is sustainable is increasingly seen as crucial for US-caught fish to be sold in European and even in some US markets. But it is extremely expensive. States could defray costs by pursing certification in partnership – rather than in competition – with other states.
For shrimp, it will take a lot of hard work by big processors to expand markets for the higher catches expected this season. But small groups of fishermen may be able to act on a more local level to boost their price enough to get them through the winter. The Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA) is offering to help interested fishermen start Community Supported Fishery (CSF) programs in their hometowns. Successfully pioneered in Port Clyde, ME with shrimp, CSFs have the potential to bring all kinds of fishermen, including lobstermen, together with their neighbors in a selling and buying arrangement that serves everyone.
In nearly all cases, working together, even with competitors, brings more ideas to the table, reduces redundancy, prevents people with the same interests from working at cross-purposes, and saves money. Those are things we all need to do to get through these tough times.
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