>>Fishermen's Voice Monthly Newspaper, Gouldsboro Maine

Several fishermen on Mount Desert Island plan to sell shares of their shrimp catch directly to consumers, as part of a new concept called a “community-supported fishery.”

The plan could be up and running in January.
CSFs are a new approach to marketing seafood based on the success of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) arrangements. CSFs promote the consumption of locally landed seafood and the idea of knowing local fishermen.

The arrangement involves consumers ordering and paying for a share of seafood – in this case, shrimp. Advance orders provide fishermen with a guaranteed market for their product and capital to keep fishing.

Aaron Dority, Downeast Initia- tive project director for the Penobscot East Resource Center in Stonington, is helping the MDI fishermen establish the local shrimp CSF for a 10-week period.

The Midcoast Fishermen’s Cooperative of Port Clyde started a groundfish CSF last year, and a shrimp CSF this year.

David Horner is a local fisherman for lobster, groundfish and shrimp. He said he will be rigging up his shrimp net shortly. But with the price of shrimp at its lowest ever – 37 cents per pound in Portland, and less in this area – it’s unclear how much a CSF will help, he said.

“I think it's a good idea,” he said of the concept, but added, “I don’t think it will come close to solving the problem.”

Shrimp prices a year ago were 60 cents per pound. In 2002, they peaked at $1.50 per pound. An average price is $1.

The price has sunk for the last five years. For that reason, Horner has been lobstering through December, even though the shrimp season started on Dec. 1 – and even though lobster prices are not looking good either. Still, he said, he's getting a good price for lobster – $3 per pound – compared with other areas.

“We had a decent year lobstering,” he said. “It wasn't that bad.”

The CSF plan depends not only on direct-to-consumer share-marketing, which will take care of only a small portion of a week's catch. It will also depend on a solid buyer for the remainder of each haul, he said.

Some companies have indicated they are not interested in buying shrimp this year, he said.

To make the shrimp trips economically viable, he said, a boat would need to sell some 5,000 pounds per week.

Still, the CSF has potential, and Horner said he's looking forward to seeing how much interest there is among consumers.

For more information or to sign up for shares, contact Aaron Dority, Downeast Initiative project director, aaron@penobscot-east.org, or call 367-2708.

According to state regulators, shrimp abundance is high, and the shrimp season has been extended by 28 days this year, to 180 days.

“Our efforts to reduce fishing mortality in early 2000 has resulted in a high abundance of shrimp for the fishery,” said Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission shrimp section chairman Pat White from York, Maine. “By approving a 6-month fishing season, we hope new markets will open up for this wild-caught species.”

The 2004 year-class appeared strong in this summer’s annual survey. The 5-year-old shrimp will be available as a quality product to the fishery this season. The 2005 year-class is also showing up strong. The 2006 year-class continues to be very weak, while the above–average 2007 year class showed up for the first time in the survey.

Shrimp fishermen are being urged to avoid small shrimp that are often mixed with marketable larger shrimp, in order to ensure a healthy fishery in future years.