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Less than a year before, company owner R. Scott Memhard announced that he needed to put the property up for sale because of a drop-off in demand from the groundfish fleet and state restrictions on how his premises could be used.<\/p>\nThe decline of the groundfish fishery, depressed lobster prices, the sluggish economy, and other factors have created serious financial problems for many fishing-related businesses in the Northeast.\u00a0 Most everyone has heard the adage that \u201cit takes money to make money,\u201d but it can be hard to secure sufficient capital to ensure the cash flow that is the lifeblood of business.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why the Cape Pond Ice story that broke in mid-May was such an attention grabber.\u00a0 A consortium of public and private lenders got together to refinance the long-term debt of the Gloucester waterfront ice plant, which has served the fishing industry for
\n166 years.<\/p>\n
Less than a year before, company owner R. Scott Memhard announced that he needed to put the property up for sale because of a drop-off in demand from the groundfish fleet and state restrictions on how his premises could be used.<\/p>\n
But city officials, state lawmakers, and local bankers soon realized that the loss of the only full-time operating icehouse in the port would be a huge blow to Gloucester\u2019s fishing industry \u2013 and the city\u2019s long-range plan to revitalize the harbor.<\/p>\n
Mass Development, the state\u2019s finance and development authority, and Rockport National Bank came up with a flexible, long-term mortgage at favorable rates totaling nearly $700,000 to pay off Cape Pond Ice\u2019s previous lenders.\u00a0 And, Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp., a public corporation that helps businesses facing unusual challenges, provided a line of credit to support Cape Pond\u2019s operations and building improvements.<\/p>\n
At the same time, state Sen. Bruce Tarr and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante worked with regulators to clarify Designated Port Area (DPA) regulations, which stipulate that half of the business of a company located within a DPA must serve water-dependent users.\u00a0 Cape Pond Ice had diversified over time and, with the groundfish downturn, was in danger of falling short of that benchmark.\u00a0 But, in mid-February, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection declared that Cape Pond Ice was \u201can essential hub port use, serving the needs of the fishing industry,\u201d and, so, determined that the entire parcel of land met state DPA requirements.\u00a0 As a result, Cape Pond Ice now has the flexibility to recruit tenants to share the financial load.<\/p>\n
There was good news in Maine, too.\u00a0 On May 7, the US Commerce Department\u2019s Economic Development Administration announced a $500,000 grant to Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI), a nonprofit Rural Community Development Corporation, to infuse additional capital into its Commercial Fisheries\/Aquaculture and Working Waterfront Revolving Loan Fund.\u00a0 The fund provides loans to support fishing operations and launch new fishing-related businesses.<\/p>\n
CEI also was able to put out a call for proposals for the state\u2019s Working Waterfront Access Protection Program earlier this year when restrictions on
\n$1 million in bond funds approved in 2010 were lifted by the LePage administration.\u00a0 CEI has reopened the application process to additional proposals with a new deadline of Sept. 9.<\/p>\n
And, CEI is working with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to investigate the potential for developing a national loan program to make more capital available to the fishing industry.<\/p>\n
Creative approaches to financing such as these are lifesavers for fishing businesses and critical to securing the industry\u2019s future.\u00a0 Everyone involved deserves our thanks for their efforts.\u00a0 \/cfn\/<\/b><\/p>\n
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Read the rest and much, much more in the\u00a0June issue of Commercial Fisheries News.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Read online\u00a0immediately and download for future reference.<\/p>\n [add_to_cart=4774]<\/p>\n The decline of the groundfish fishery, depressed lobster prices, the sluggish economy, and other factors have created serious financial problems for many fishing-related businesses in the Northeast.\u00a0 Most everyone has heard the adage that \u201cit takes money to make money,\u201d but it can be hard to secure sufficient capital to ensure the cash flow that … <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"