December 21, 2018 — There is ample opportunity to be had in Maine's USD 1 billion (EUR 876 million) lobster industry for those who are eager and interested in the work.
That was the overarching message shared with a group of inmates at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, Maine, U.S.A. on 7 December, during a kickoff session for a new training program aimed at readying incarcerated Mainers with the skills, knowledge, and abilities to potentially land a job in the lobster industry upon release from prison.
Established through a collaboration between the Maine Lobster Dealers' Association and the Maine Department of Corrections, the certificate-earning program is comprised of a series of workshops focused on supply chain dynamics, lobster handling, packaging and shipping, and warehouse and plant safety.
Around 45-55 offenders were in attendance during the initial information session hosted in Windham earlier this month, which saw local lobster businesses such as Cozy Harbor Seafood, Ready Seafood, and Inland Seafood conduct presentations on the career paths and possibilities available within the industry.
Representatives from the companies, alongside Maine Lobster Dealers' Association Executive Director Annie Tselikis, spoke to the attending prisoners about the troubles they've been facing beyond bars trying to build their workforces. Low unemployment rates and changes to the H2B visa program have presented challenges for hiring as far as lobster companies are concerned in today's booming economy, explained Tselikis.
"It is hard for us to quantify how many jobs need to be filled right now. There are positions posted that go unfilled, forcing companies to attempt to fill by personal connections," Tselikis said.
November 8, 2016 — Maine shrimpers are all but resigned to another year of being unable to pursue their quarry in the Gulf of Maine, with a regulatory board set to decide this week whether to allow a season this winter.
Maine shrimp are fished in the Gulf of Maine and were a popular winter seafood for years, but regulators shut the fishery down after a collapse during the 2013 fishing season, and it has remained closed since. The shrimp have struggled to rebuild populations as waters have warmed.
A board of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is set to decide Thursday whether fishing will be allowed this year. A committee of scientists has advised the board it's not a good idea, with temperatures off New England inhospitable to the shrimp.
Spencer Fuller, a shrimp and lobster buyer with Cozy Harbor Seafood in Portland, said his company was once the largest processor of Maine shrimp in the country, and it has suffered. He said that he is prepared for another year of closure, but that it will send residual troubles through Maine's seafood industry.
November 7, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Maine shrimpers are all but resigned to another year of being unable to pursue their quarry in the Gulf of Maine, with a regulatory board set to decide this week whether to allow a season this winter.
Spencer Fuller, a shrimp and lobster buyer with Cozy Harbor Seafood in Portland, said his company was once the largest processor of Maine shrimp in the country and has suffered. He said that he is prepared for another year of closure, but that it will send residual troubles through Maine's seafood industry.