Northeast fisheries revenues gain in 2000

PORTLAND – Revenues from commercial fisheries in the Northeast set another record in 2000, growing 4 percent to $1.106 billion, the National Marine Fisheries Service said Friday.

Maine, which posted a 9 percent gain, led the region in the value of its catch for the seventh consecutive year. Overall, revenues grew from $324 million to $354 million in Maine despite a slight drop in landings.

Maine was boosted by a record lobster haul for a fourth consecutive year. Overall, Maine accounts for 62 percent of lobster revenues, followed by Massachusetts, which had 22 percent.

“We’re doing our part,” lobsterman Pat White quipped Friday. He spoke during a break from hauling lobsters off Maine’s York Beach.

Massachusetts came in second place for overall fisheries revenues with $288.3 million, and Virginia was third with $118.3 million.

New Bedford, Mass., remained the top port in the nation with revenues of $146.3 million, a 13 percent increase from 1999.

The reopening of some scallop-fishing areas gave a boost to New Bedford, which depends heavily on scallops, said Terri Fradi of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Massachusetts.

Portland regained its No. 2 position with $45.4 million in revenues, followed by Port Judith, R.I., with $41.4 million.

All told, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Virginia all posted gains in terms of revenues. But only Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Hampshire saw growth in terms of actual amount of fish caught.

In Maine, strong lobster numbers helped to carry the region’s fisheries through the dark days when the fishery for groundfish like cod and haddock collapsed, said White, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.

Lobster, which declined slightly in terms of weight despite Maine’s record harvest, remained at the top with a value of $301.3 million – nearly double that of sea scallops, which were in second place at $161.2 million.

Atlantic salmon, all of which came from aquaculture operations, came in third place in terms of revenues at $79 million.

Overall, there was nothing particularly unusual in the preliminary figures, Fradi said Friday from her office in Woods Hole, Mass.

Groundfish continued to stabilize. Cod, yellowtail flounder and haddock all saw modest gains in landings and revenues.

Barbara Stevenson, who owns three fishing boats in Portland, believes groundfish have rebounded to an even greater extent that isn’t reflected in the figures because of heavy restrictions on fishermen.

Groundfish stocks collapsed in the 1990s, and Stevenson has been surprised by the speed of their recovery. “It’s actually faster than any of us anticipated, at least anybody I know,” she said.

It is more than just numbers. It is the basis for the employment of the fishing industry in Maine, White said, and lobstermen wonder how much longer the bountiful traps will continue.

“I think everybody’s concerned about where the top is. This year, people have been a little bit concerned because the landings have been off fairly significantly,” White said.