February 12, 2005
Saturday

Having grown up in the fishing industry, I can see the need for privately marketing your supply. But I can only see problems with the government getting involved. I see other problems like location. Is this proposed thing on the dock where you're not handing your catch more than you need to? How is the quality going to be maintained through all the private fishermen? Is there going to be every one for his own? How can you guaranty that one fisherman will not ruin other's products? When someone orders your product are you going to be able to ship to your market fast enough?

I really think in today's competitive market, location is a major player. Wouldn't a place where you can pull up to the dock, tie up your boat and leave it while you finish taking care of your fish, spraying glaze on them and packaging them up properly and clean up the mess you just made be best? Not holding up the rest of the fisherman. To me I can see a need for a ramp dock to dock up to while doing this. is that what we will have to give next? Let alone fighting with ships loading at the mill and log rafts. Is the state or someone going to inspect for quality.? Is one bad batch going to contaminate the whole thing? Is there a market for your fish locally? Is that not why the big boys store their catch in Seattle where their product can get to the restaurants that day. Be real... they buy as they need it, not a van load at a time.

To me, if you're marketing your own fish you need your own freezers so you do not have to worry about the other guy leaving a mess, stealing your product or whatever. The people that look for free monies all the time are just worried about making their own pay on someone else's expense.

Is all the extra work going to add up in what you get out of it? is it not going to be easier to just unload at the cold storage down town by the docks you tie up at and let the people that have been taking care of your fish do it? I would see that being found out after a few years. Then we have a another defunct business sit out there waiting for some one else to bail it out. At the price of fuel you may burn just running out there could add fifty dollars lost before you get them off the boat. There are too many old bone heads just trying to get something going out there - they will tell ya anything. I know others can see other problems and you need to make them apparent before this happens.

So that is my thought

Robert McRoberts
Ketchikan, AK - USA

 

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