Fisheries Group Offers Direct-to-Consumer Sales

by Laurie Schreiber

L. Schreiber Photo

The Midcoast Fishermen’s Cooperative of Port Clyde is selling fresh, wild-caught seafood at 17 farmer’s markets throughout Maine, including the Town Hill Farmer’s Market, which is open in the summer on Friday afternoons, 3-6 p.m.

Two winters ago, the cooperative began to sell catch shares of shrimp, through its community-supported fisheries program, in Town Hill.

The cooperative added shares of groundfish to the program last winter. The product is sold under the brand name “Port Clyde Fresh Catch.”

The cooperative continues to sell seafood through the catch share program, which allows customers to pre-order a share of about 10 pounds of seafood or half-share of seafood at a set price, and then pick it up once a week.

But the cooperative is now providing a retail sale option for those customers who don’t want to participate in the program: They can simply stop by at the farmer’s market to buy the amount of seafood they want.

The products include groundfish fillet and steaks, lobsters and lobster meat, crab claws and crabmeat, Maine shrimp, whole fish, Maine scallops, calamari and other specialty items. All products can be vacuum-sealed and frozen for no extra charge.

The fishermen harvest fish in the summer, Maine shrimp in the winter, and lobsters, crabs and scallops at various times throughout the year.

For more information or to place an order, contact 975-2191, 372-1055, or info@midcoastfishermen. org; or visit portclydefreshcatch.com.