National report: Prices for Portland’s catch plunging

PORTLAND – Portland-based boats landed more fish last year than the year before but the value of the catch dropped sharply, the federal government reported.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its list of the top 50 commercial fishing ports in the United States on Thursday, showing how each port’s catch in 2003 compared to 2002.

The list of top commercial fishing ports in the United States shows Portland retained its rank of 17th by weight.

Overall, boats operating out of Portland caught nearly 65.8 million pounds of fish, compared to 62 million in 2002. But the value dropped to $28.7 million from $40.4 million in 2002.

Other Maine ports to make the list include Rockland, where the catch was up from 22 million pounds in 2002 to 27.9 million the following year. It was not on the list for the top 50 ports by value.

Stonington’s catch was 20 million pounds in 2003, up from 14.7 million. The value of its catch dropped from $21.7 million to $20.5 million, 33rd on the list.

Understanding the sharp decline will require analyzing the different species that made up the catch those years and how much prices dropped for some species, said Maggie Raymond, of the Associated Fisheries of Maine Groundfish Group.

“I do know that groundfish prices were down last summer from the previous summer,” Raymond said. Groundfish like cod, haddock and flounder made up a substantial percentage of the catch in Portland.

Unfortunately, even though landings remain strong, prices for many species are still hurting, she said.

“They’ve been even lower this summer,” she said. “Unfortunately, fuel prices have been higher so it’s been very difficult for anyone to break even this summer.”

The port with the most landings was Dutch Harbor-Unalaska, Alaska, with 900.7 million pounds of fish and shellfish, slightly down from its record catch the year before of 908.1 million.