A shortage of lobster processing facilities in Maine will be addressed by Ready Seafood, a lobster dealer which just announced it will build a new facility in southern Maine by 2019.
Maine’s lobster catch has been at or near all-time highs in recent years. The state’s fishermen harvested more than 110 million pounds of lobster in 2017, but sent more than USD 200 million (EUR 161.7 million) worth to Canada for processing, according to an Associated press report.
Ready Seafood, based in Portland, Maine, announced it plans to build a new 40-acre lobster processing facility in Saco, 18 miles south of Portland. The new building will also include tanks to keep live lobsters for shipping. John and Brendan Ready, the co-owners of the business, said the facility’s lobster processing and holding capabilities will rival the largest existing facilities in the state, which has about a half dozen lobster processors.
"These lobsters are already going across the border to Canada. Why aren't they being processed here?" Brendan Ready said, according to the AP. "Because you need infrastructure."
Ready Seafood is hoping to start construction on the project in June 2018 and get the first phase of the project open by summer 2019.
Newly elected Maine Lobstermen's Association President Kristan Porter said the project will be good for the state’s fisheries economy.
"We'd love to see those lobsters processed in Maine, and keep some of that money in Maine," he said.
