November 16, 2014 — Fishermen around the state are hoping a million-dollar investment in the Portland Fish Exchange can breathe new life into one of the nerve centers of the state’s fishing industry.
The 28-year-old fish exchange, located on Portland’s waterfront, is critical to the state’s groundfish industry because it is Maine’s only live seafood auction, hosting sales of cod, flounder and pollock five times per week. The city-owned facility frequently houses ten tons of fish in a day and attracts local buyers and those from New York and Boston.
But the volume has dipped in recent years as New England’s groundfish industry has struggled. The exchange moved close to 30 million pounds of fish per year in the early 1990s but now averages about five million pounds per year, Portland Fish Exchange General Manager Bert Jongerden said.
City officials and the facility’s manager hope to revitalize the facility with a round of improvements that are starting this month with its roof, which is about 25 years old. The money is part of a $100 million state bond approved by voters last year.
At a recent auction, buyer Michael Twiss of Portland-based JAM Seafood and Fish Processing said the health of the fish exchange – which specializes in the groundfish that live around the bottom of the water – is vital to Maine fishermen and processors.
Read the full story from the Associated Press here