Fishermen and Farmers Discuss Alliance

A coastal farm with lobster boats. Not long ago, fishermen made a living from the sea while maintaining subsistence farms, and market gardens. Groups of Maine fishermen and farmers are meeting to discuss marketing strategies that might be mutually beneficial to both of these food providers.  Tredwell Photo

Joe Perotta, a clammer working out of Frenchman’s Bay said, he’d “just got off the tide,” as he walked in to the By Land or by Sea Meeting, at City Hall Ellsworth.

Still in his heavy boots, grinning because he was a couple of minutes late, Perotta settled into a seat near Jessie Leach of Bagaduce Oyster and lobster co-op manager, Stevie Robbins III, of Stonington. Perotta said there’s no history of red tide east of the Penobscot. He is confident, like everyone else gathered in City Hall that Monday night, that he’s got an excellent product, so he’s willing to look into all marketing options.

The By Land and by Sea forum was designed to get farmers and fishermen - Maine’s food-producers - involved in discussing strategies for marketing food produced or caught locally. The reasoning behind this series of meetings, funded by the Maine Community Foundation, was to create an exchange of ideas between Maine food harvesters and fishermen based upon the goal of strengthening community based-efforts, and the local economy.

By Land and by Sea project partners Amanda Beal, of the Eat Local Foods Coalition, and Robin Alden of Penobscot East Resource Center, addressed local fishermen and farmers.

For Amanda Beal, a former president of Maine Organic Farm Association (MOGFA), the concept of grassroots, local marketing is familiar territory. For fishermen, different issues exist than those faced by farmers. Beal told the crowd that only by bringing representatives together from Maine’s food-producing industries could this project and its goals be put into context. The Eat Local Foods Coalition has created a Maine food map, where harvesters and fishermen can connect with consumers and new markets. To add your business or co-op to the list, go to www.eatmainefoods.org/"www.eatmainefoods.org

Meeting co-chairman, Robin Alden, of Penobscot East Resource Center, explained, “Farmers and fishermen are both primary food producers, with a lot in common once you start talking about getting food to market -- to the people who will be eating that food.”

While their issues are not exactly the same, a farm example might give a fisherman or dealer an idea that could really make a difference in the long term.”

Janet Toth, the Community Development Coordinator of Ellsworth City Hall's Small Businesses office said, “The concept of uniting fishermen and farmers is to create a large food production group – which legislators respond to – rather than disjointed groups of harvesters and fishermen.”

Part of that reasoning is that the U.S. Department of Labor already counts fishermen, farmers and lumbermen as one group. Toth agrees it would benefit local fishing and farming operations to combine marketing efforts. While fishing is a substantial industry in Maine and in seaboard states on both coasts, she said that nationwide, there needs to be a larger, united voice in order for legislators to more effectively represent and support food-producing industries. Toth feels a combined group from Maine’s fishing and farming venues would carry more clout.

Farmers and fishermen mentioned issues surrounding marketing strategies, food and fishing policy, even consumer preferences. Those attending the forum included chefs, organic farmers and blueberry growers, beef, goat and dairy farm owners, seaweed harvesters, clammers, lobstermen, co-op directors. They discussed how profit could be improved through direct or alternative marketing strategies. When ordering in Maine’s waterfront restaurants, tourists constantly ask, “Was the seafood caught locally?” Five-star chefs want to supply their kitchens with fresh local produce, fruit and seafood.

One chef at the forum said, “It makes no sense buying from the big distributor (North Center) when seafood caught by local fishermen travels to a large supplier in Portland, then back to Bar Harbor - often frozen.…”

Harvesters attending the meeting were interested in connecting with local markets, as well as those further away. With seafood, especially lobster, there is demand overseas, as well as inland U.S. And worldwide, the benchmark of quality is Maine lobster.

When asked to further describe how the fishing/farming collaboration could benefit fishermen, Alden responded, “Farmers have tried various different marketing ideas, and in some cases have tackled the need for processing and the pricing issues that result. They also deal with issues of transportation and storage. Those in the lobster business are learning more about the people who are eating lobster: for example, that 80 percent of the people who eat lobster eat it processed. Only 20 percent of the market wants a live product. These are the things that Kristen Bailey of the Moseley Group who did the state lobster task force report shared with the industry in Stonington.”

Alden viewed the Land and Sea forum as a starting point from which further discussion, and possible collaboration between farmers and fishermen would evolve. She later said, “What is happening in the lobster business right now is that a lot of people -- fishermen, dealers, and others -- are thinking about how they might handle or sell lobsters differently to get a better price, or just to move them now in this down economy. For years, fishermen have seen the 'market' as the dealer who buys their lobsters when they pull up to the dock. In contrast, many small farmers trying to make a living in Maine have realized that the 'market' is actually the person who eats their produce.”

Alden explained that while cross-referencing marketing strategies within Maine’s food producing industries wouldn’t raise boat price, discussions between farmers and fishermen could lead to collaboration, expanded markets, and long-term gains.

According to Sheila Dassatt, of the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association, “The By Land and By Sea Forum was a good start toward working together and opening up avenues of communication. I have always felt that farmers, fishermen, loggers and truckers all have a lot in common. Traditionally, we’re all willing to lend a hand and aren’t afraid of a good day's work. Generally, we’re all small, family-owned businesses, fighting for independent survival.”