February 15 2007

Gloucester Rated 11th in Nation for Seafood Value

By Douglas A. Moser , Staff writer Gloucester Daily Times

The federal government has ranked Gloucester 11th in the nation for the value of seafood landed here in 2005 and 10th for the amount of fish landed, continuing a mostly upward trend in the value of seafood being handled by the port.

"(Fishermen) find the prices are better," said Vito Calomo, executive director of the Massachusetts Fisheries Recovery Commission. "It's faster and more feasible (to land fish in Gloucester)."

Gloucester landed 124.1 million pounds of seafood worth $45.9 million in 2005, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. New Bedford, at $282.5 million, ranked first in the nation in value and eighth for the 153.4 million pounds of seafood it landed.

Portland, Maine, was 22nd in value and 20th in weight, following a downward trend for that port in recent years. Hank Soule, general manager of the Portland Fish Exchange, attributed the decline there, and part of Gloucester's success, to the number of Maine boats landing their catch here.

"I'm sure Maine helped us get there because they're landing more here," Calomo said. "But it all contributes. We get fishermen out of Cape Cod at the (Gloucester Seafood Display) Auction. We get fish out of Rhode Island sometimes. We get fish out of New Hampshire."

One reason Maine fishermen began landing in Gloucester is that they could sell up to 500 lobsters a week caught in their groundfish nets, Soule and Calomo both said. Landing those lobsters in Maine is illegal.

A National Marine Fisheries Service study reported last year that between 2000 and 2005, 450 trips by Maine boats landed catches outside Maine, with an estimated loss of $9.6 million in revenue. In 2000, about $1.25 million was lost, according to the report, and the number jumped to $3.5 million in 2005.

Calomo attributes Gloucester's growing value and landings to the port's proximity to fishing grounds in the Georges Bank area and fertile areas of ocean off Gloucester and Marblehead. He also cited the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction's fishermen-friendly practices and other port businesses - such as Rose's Oil, Cape Pond Ice, several machine and welding shops, and maritime railroad businesses - that attract fishermen.

"Years ago, (the auction) only took even weights. You could land 352 pounds of fish, but only get paid for 300 pounds," Calomo said. "The auction handles all species of fish. You can sell your whole catch and not worry about if someone will take your haddock or redfish."

Lawrence Ciulla, the Gloucester auction's owner, declined to comment on the ranking.

Prices for fish tend to be slightly higher in Gloucester as well, and Massachusetts does not have as high a tax on fuel as Maine - leading more Maine fishermen to land their entire catch here.  More about ME vs. MA fish prices | More about ME fuel taxes