By a Fisherman for the Fishermen
Donation protected
I have been a commercial fisherman for over 20 years. I used to catch a lot of ground fish back in the day and throw overboard all the dog fish we caught as they were considered nuisance.
Times have changed: There is a shortage of ground fish and we need to maximize what we have left - dogfish and skates.
About 5 years ago I decided to bring attention to these underutilized species - both domestically and internationally.
I have also made a point to keep an eye on the regulatory aspect as well and keep both sustainable and prevent overfishing. In 2014 I was elected to serve on the AP committee of spiny dogfish and have attended council meetings.
I found 3 serious issues:
1. Currently there are only 3 processors who can only realistically handle 80,000 lbs per day;
2. The market we rely on is almost exclusively in Europe.
2. A great number of members wanted to see an increase of the daily limit (currently 6000);
So if the limit goes up to 10,000, not only fish can't be processed, but there is currently not enough demand which will result into the price to the boat go down to $0.12/$0.16/lb.
So I have made it my mission to expand the markets for these fisheries.
I am doing it alone. I have no big organizations to answer to or control the final outcome. I answer directly to the fishermen and all the profits from my hard work go directly to them.
With that being said I had to find a way to finance my endeavor myself.
I reached out to Red's Best and presented my idea of going to China to the international seafood expo to start building markets. Jared thought this was a great idea, bought my plane ticket and got a booth at the International Seafood Expo in Quindao, China.
I attended the Quindao seafood expo in 2015 - I learned a great deal and gathered a lot of ideas on how to proceed in the future and made significant business contacts.
In 2016 I attended the Brussels, Belgium Seafood expo. A great success in reestablishing the belly flap market in Germany.
What I am doing ultimately helps the processors - this is not what I am aiming at. I wanted to make sure that they understand that a fisherman is there along with them with a clear understanding of the markets and demand. Everywhere they went, I was there. No other fisherman has done this before.
This was noticed last winter and we sat down to negotiate prices - $0.22/lb from June to mid-August and $0.24/lb from mid-August onward is the current price at the Chatham dock.
These are the best prices I have seen in years.
I firmly believe this is due to persistence, pressure and determination.
The whole process has been draining my personal bank account. I have spent more than $10,000 of my own funds.
I am heading to the Quindao Expo once again this year. I will be on China from October 31st until November 9th.
I was also invited to speak at the 5th Annual World Congress of Aquaculture and Fisheries, which will be a huge tribune for me to present and educate the world of these underutilized species, which are also sustainable and MSC certified.
I have scheduled meetings with potential buyers and have high hopes for the future.
I want to leave a fishery for the young generations of fishermen.
If we manage to increase the demand, we can slowly start thinking about increasing the daily limits at a fair price.
This endeavor, while, very close to my heart, is becoming a big financial burden. I am humbly asking for help this time around. I have a family and a three-year-old. I built my own boat this past winter and money is tight.
I believe that what I do helps everyone - the processors, the shippers, the dock workers and most importantly, the fishermen.
Respectfully,
Doug Feeney
Captain, FV Noah, Chatham, MA
Please, read more about my efforts here:
http://www.pageturnpro.com/Cape-Business-Publishing-Group/69575-CPB-December-2015-Issue/index.html#32
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/article/2016/08/14/dogfish/
Times have changed: There is a shortage of ground fish and we need to maximize what we have left - dogfish and skates.
About 5 years ago I decided to bring attention to these underutilized species - both domestically and internationally.
I have also made a point to keep an eye on the regulatory aspect as well and keep both sustainable and prevent overfishing. In 2014 I was elected to serve on the AP committee of spiny dogfish and have attended council meetings.
I found 3 serious issues:
1. Currently there are only 3 processors who can only realistically handle 80,000 lbs per day;
2. The market we rely on is almost exclusively in Europe.
2. A great number of members wanted to see an increase of the daily limit (currently 6000);
So if the limit goes up to 10,000, not only fish can't be processed, but there is currently not enough demand which will result into the price to the boat go down to $0.12/$0.16/lb.
So I have made it my mission to expand the markets for these fisheries.
I am doing it alone. I have no big organizations to answer to or control the final outcome. I answer directly to the fishermen and all the profits from my hard work go directly to them.
With that being said I had to find a way to finance my endeavor myself.
I reached out to Red's Best and presented my idea of going to China to the international seafood expo to start building markets. Jared thought this was a great idea, bought my plane ticket and got a booth at the International Seafood Expo in Quindao, China.
I attended the Quindao seafood expo in 2015 - I learned a great deal and gathered a lot of ideas on how to proceed in the future and made significant business contacts.
In 2016 I attended the Brussels, Belgium Seafood expo. A great success in reestablishing the belly flap market in Germany.
What I am doing ultimately helps the processors - this is not what I am aiming at. I wanted to make sure that they understand that a fisherman is there along with them with a clear understanding of the markets and demand. Everywhere they went, I was there. No other fisherman has done this before.
This was noticed last winter and we sat down to negotiate prices - $0.22/lb from June to mid-August and $0.24/lb from mid-August onward is the current price at the Chatham dock.
These are the best prices I have seen in years.
I firmly believe this is due to persistence, pressure and determination.
The whole process has been draining my personal bank account. I have spent more than $10,000 of my own funds.
I am heading to the Quindao Expo once again this year. I will be on China from October 31st until November 9th.
I was also invited to speak at the 5th Annual World Congress of Aquaculture and Fisheries, which will be a huge tribune for me to present and educate the world of these underutilized species, which are also sustainable and MSC certified.
I have scheduled meetings with potential buyers and have high hopes for the future.
I want to leave a fishery for the young generations of fishermen.
If we manage to increase the demand, we can slowly start thinking about increasing the daily limits at a fair price.
This endeavor, while, very close to my heart, is becoming a big financial burden. I am humbly asking for help this time around. I have a family and a three-year-old. I built my own boat this past winter and money is tight.
I believe that what I do helps everyone - the processors, the shippers, the dock workers and most importantly, the fishermen.
Respectfully,
Doug Feeney
Captain, FV Noah, Chatham, MA
Please, read more about my efforts here:
http://www.pageturnpro.com/Cape-Business-Publishing-Group/69575-CPB-December-2015-Issue/index.html#32
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/article/2016/08/14/dogfish/
Organizer and beneficiary
Petya Feeney
Organizer
Chatham, MA
Douglas Feeney
Beneficiary