The fishermen of Maine are working like community-supported farms to save the fisheries. They even got paid for a portion of the catch in advance. The fishermen eliminate processors and purveyors so that they could earn more money in this crisis situation. By going direct to consumers the Port Clyde Draggermen’s Co-op hopes to increase the return on its shrimp, a staple for winter groundfishing boats in the state.
In addition to several fishing groups have started using direct marketing to stay afloat through lawsuits and grants. These community-supported fisheries (CSFs) attempt to replicate the success of small farmers using the community-supported agriculture (CSA) model. In this process the shareholders will invest at the beginning of the season with guaranteed return of food dividends all season long.
Glen Libby, Port Clyde fisherman, told that the fishermen have done pretty good job and they are in the process of trying to save what we have left. Eric Siy, executive diretor of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, informed that the challenge of these fishermen is alike small family farmer because big corporate interests are edging them out, driving up costs, and consolidating opportunity. He added that there is a major crippling of the ability of community-based fisherman to be able to compete.
According to Maine organizer Burt the consumers in Rockland this year needed to invest more than money. He said that they really have taken a leap of faith to make this happen. According to him the Port Clyde fishermen are well aware of the problems of global warming and carbon footprint and they know how to save their fishing industry.
