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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 8
April 2006
ME fishermen’s forum scores with successful event
ROCKPORT, ME - The 31st annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum and Trade Show was held here March 2-4, and by all measure it was a great success.
Fishing industry members and their families turned out in strong numbers, providing a thoughtful and generous audience for the event’s mix of business and social activities. Attendees packed seminar rooms and impressed trade show exhibitors as serious and educated shoppers.
The Coast Guard was on hand, encouraging participation in its poolside practice sessions for putting on survival suits and getting into life rafts. Managers and scientists from state and federal agencies led seminar discussions as well as listened to what fishermen had to say.
And a slate of elected officials took advantage of the opportunity to see their fishing industry constituency. Maine Gov. John Baldacci was the special guest speaker at Saturday night’s banquet. US Sen. Susan Collins joined the Friday night banquet crowd and US Reps. Tom Allen and Mike Michaud also attended on Friday. A scheduling conflict caused Sen. Olympia Snowe, a regular forum visitor, to send her regrets.
State Sen. Dennis Damon and Rep. Lelia Percy, the co-chairmen of the state Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee, participated for the whole forum, along with Reps. Jeff Kaelin and Hannah Pingree.
Attendance for the event was estimated at 3,000 by the staff of the Samoset Resort, the host facility.
26 scholarships
The Friday night auction proved to be a highlight of this year’s forum, according to forum Coordinator Chilloa Young.
The auction raised $24,666 and, with cash donations, a total of $26,000 was available for scholarships. According to the new forum policy, all of the auction revenue is given out in $1,000 scholarships at Saturday night’s scholarship raffle.
“It was truly amazing,” Young said. “Just phenomenal support and generosity from the fishing industry.”
There were about one-third more participants registered for the auction, with spirited bidding on the donated items.
Young singled out Simrad Fisheries for special recognition. The company donated an OLEX 3-D chart system to the auction. The equipment, which lists at $6,995 and normally sells for about $6,000, brought a wining bid of over $4,000 from Massachusetts lobsterman Gary Ostrom.
“It was for a good cause,” said Mike Hillers of Simrad Fisheries. He said that the software manufacturer, OLEX, had contributed to making the donation possible.
Hillers also cited his company’s connection with Lew Grant, a forum board member emeritus.
Trade show
More than 120 exhibitors filled every nook and cranny of available show space at the Samoset and, more often than not, aisles were jammed with fishermen checking out show specials, gearing up for spring outfitting, or just taking in what might be new in the way of equipment and services.
“This is a top-notch show,” said Kenny Jenkins of Rose’s Marine Co., one of many “charter exhibitors” who have supported the forum trade show since day one.
“The forum and the Ocean City show (East Coast Commercial Fishermen’s Exposition) are the only shows that ever really produce any business for us,” he added.
Bob Tokarczyk of Bell Power Systems, showing John Deere and Scania marine diesel engines, agreed.
“I say it every year – I see more honest-to-goodness fishermen per dollar and time spent here than at almost any other show. The forum is absolutely one of my favorite and most productive shows.”
Howard Simmons of Shepherd Lobster Wire spoke for many exhibitors with his assessment of the show.
“We’ve been very busy here. Traffic’s been good and the guys are pretty much in high spirits, from what I can tell.”
Several exhibitors, who spoke off the record, said they had closed deals at the show and thought this could be an early indicator of a strong spring ahead, commerce-wise, for the region.
Lonnie Staples of Lonnie’s Hydraulic Service, helping out at the Hydraulic Hauling Systems booth, summed it up this way:
“I’ve been here since the very first show and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Packed seminars
In between the trade show and hobnobbing in the halls, many people took in the seminars, and this year’s topics drew some particularly large crowds.
In several cases, people squeezed into meeting rooms and lined the walls, straining to hear the debates.
Fishermen with a stake in the general category scallop fishery asked hard questions about whether or not they’d be able to keep fishing under Amendment 11 to the federal scallop plan. Shrimp fishermen brainstormed about ways to improve marketing for “Maine” shrimp, possibly by creating a seafood promotional council to generate excitement prior to each season’s opening as a way to increase demand and, most importantly, price.
Sessions on diversification of fisheries, the Downeast groundfish initiative, and the impacts of mobile gear on benthic habitat had their own solid audiences.
And, as always, lobstermen had no shortage of topics to choose from. Their well-attended sessions touched on everything from effort control and the latest stock assessment to the proposed safety component of the Maine lobster apprentice program, what’s up with whales, and the economics of the fishery.
Improving gear
Thursday’s all-day gear session drew close to 90 people, who all had the chance to watch video footage of various types of gear at work, including scallop dredges towing over bottom and cod traps luring in their targets. They also viewed displays of netting and a model of a haddock separator trawl currently being tested by Rhode Island fishermen.
Gear experts from Iceland and Canada made the trip to Maine to take part in the event. Two came down to represent Memorial University in Newfoundland, home of the world’s largest flume tank. Equipped with PowerPoint presentations and shots of ongoing gear experiments, these Canadians generated strong audience interest in the university’s work.
Forum directors initially picked “new fishing gear” as the topic for Thursday’s session to draw more working fishermen to the forum.
Although everyone seemed to have different expectations of the session, it did indeed draw fishermen and it proved to be the right kind of formula for boosting attendance by on-the-water industry members.
Many left the gathering believing the gear topic had potential for being the Thursday session at the 2007 forum as well, especially since organizers learned considerably from this year’s experience and can build upon and improve the event.
Planning for 2007 won’t begin in earnest for months to come, so no one was committing to anything. However, several said the forum board would be sure once again to select a topic of real relevance to the people who make their living on boats at sea.
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