Fishermen’s Association

Underutilized species can help fishermen diversify income

by Laurie Schreiber

Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and Luke’s Lobster officially launched the “What’s the Catch” series to focus on underappreciated fish like monkfish, redfish, and hake. Photo courtesy of Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

Four species of underutilized fish are the focus of a series of culinary events this winter organized by the Brunswick-based Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA) and Portland-based Luke’s Lobster.

The goal is to boost consumer awareness and market demand of lesser-known fish stocks caught and landed in Maine, which would in turn help fishermen diversify their income streams, said MCFA Executive Director Ben Martens.

The series, called “What’s the Catch?”, highlights monkfish, redfish, flounder, and hake. It’s designed to bring together fishermen and the community for a culinary celebration that includes dishes prepared by Luke’s chef, Zac Leeman. Local fishermen share stories about life on the water and fighting for sustainable fisheries in Maine. There are culinary tips and recipes and a complimentary signature cocktail.

Hosted the second Wednesday of each month from January through April, the series is part social event and part educational.

Martens said the events are designed to share the importance of Maine’s fishing heritage, working waterfront, and fishing future.

The series came out of a realization that there’s a disconnect between fishermen and the general public, he said.

“We think the best way to protect the working waterfront is to bring the general public and the fishermen together,” he said. “What better way to do that than over seafood?”

The events also offer a forum to talk about local seafood and diversification of fisheries, he said.

“Groundfish used to be a much bigger piece of the economic well-being of coastal communities,” he said. “We in our organization believe those opportunities are going to come back around again. But we need to get people to eat species other than haddock and cod and salmon, and show off the amazing seafood coming across our docks that right now is being shipped out of state.”

He added, “We’re trying to drive up market demand. These are species that have been landed in Maine for a long time.”

A number of fishermen, looking to diversify their businesses, have been going after monkfish seasonally, landings have been going up every year, the species is sustainably managed, he said. However, he explained, much of the catch is bought by seafood dealers in Boston or shipped overseas.

“There are a handful of restaurants in Maine that will serve it,” he said. And monkfish can be obtained at some fish markets, he added. “But it’s definitely not a regularly consumed species of fish. And the same with redfish. We catch redfish. We have a lot coming across the Portland docks. But it all gets boxed up and sent out of state.”

Redfish is a species well known to Maine’s fishermen but in recent years has been less known by consumers. Redfish are in fact red with orange underbellies and have a mild, sweet taste and a medium-firm texture.

Said Martens, “There’s a ton of opportunity that comes with having a diverse stream of seafood products coming across the dock.”

The association and Luke’s conducted a “dry run” for the series with an event in December that featured scallops. It drew over 50 people. The monkfish event sold out, with close to 70 people.

The fisheries for species like monkfish and redfish are small compared to Maine’s once-robust groundfish fishery when, for example, fishermen landed as much codfish as they did lobster, said Martens.

But groundfish stocks sharply declined through the 1990s, causing the fishery to crash. Since then, fishery managers have implemented various strategies to rebuild stocks, with various degrees of success. Maine continues to have a small groundfish fleet under the sector management system.

“Through mismanagement and overfishing, we drove down groundfish stocks,” Martens said. “But fish are amazing in their ability to recover. We’ve been fishing in the Gulf of Maine for hundreds of years and we still have fish out there.”

That’s part of the reason the association is optimistic about a future of diverse fisheries, he said.

“We believe that, with proper management, these fish species will rebuild,” he said. “Fishermen are seeing more fish out in the ocean and those species are healthy and sustainable.”

For the future, he said, the association envisions income streams that includes everything from lobster fishing and aquaculture, to groundfish and shellfish.

“We need to be a seafood state, not a lobster state,” he said.

Proceeds from the events will benefit the families of fishing captain Arnold Nickerson IV of Arundel and his crew Christopher Pinkham of Boothbay Harbor. The two died at sea off Portland while fishing aboard Nickerson’s lobster boat, the Hayley Ann, on Jan. 23. Nickerson was the chair of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association board.

For more information and to register for the events, visit mainecoastfishermen.org.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Mainebiz.