By: Adam Raymond, F/V Olympia

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

I am Adam Raymond of S. Berwick, ME, and my family owns the F/V Olympia, an offshore groundfish trawler.

The Olympia has provided the primary financial support for my family for over 20 years.

The Olympia lands approximately one-half million pounds of quality groundfish annually.

From 1989-2004 the Olympia landed that fish at the Portland Fish Exchange. Prior to landing in Maine, the Olympia landed in Boston, MA from 1985 to 1989.

My family re-located the Olympia from Boston to Portland because our preference was to conduct business in Maine. We came to the Portland Fish Exchange because the Exchange changed, for the better, the way business was done in the groundfish industry throughout New England. The founding and current members of the Portland Fish Exchange Board, and the City of Portland can be proud of the way they have improved the groundfish business for everyone.

During the fifteen years the Olympia landed fish in Portland, my family chose to sacrifice additional revenue from lobster bycatch for which the Olympia is federally permitted and authorized to take.

During the past decade, groundfish opportunity has been relentlessly reduced, and it has grown more and more difficult for the Olympia to continue to provide well paying jobs and to turn a profit.

My family has had to re-invest a half-million dollars in order to purchase additional fishing opportunity (known as days at sea).

Still, until 2004, my family continued to sacrifice additional revenue from lobster bycatch in order to remain loyal to the principle of supporting the Portland Fish Exchange.

In 2004, the Governor of Maine recognized that the Maine groundfish industry was in trouble. The Governor established a Task Force, comprised of industry and legislative experts “to formulate recommendations about how best to rebuild groundfish stocks, and preserve and enhance Maine’s groundfishing industry in the face of significant challenges and changes.”

My family was encouraged and actually believed that our State government recognized the importance of the groundfish industry to the State’s economy. When the Governor failed to act on a single recommendation that would be useful to the groundfish industry, my family lost that hope and re-located the Olympia back to Boston.

By voluntarily sacrificing an estimated one million dollars in lobster bycatch revenue over the at least 15 years, my family believes we have done our part to preserve the groundfish industry in Maine.

My family has asked me to be here today to request that you now do your part to help preserve the groundfish industry in Maine.