Portland, Maine's Harbor’s Ice Buildup Creates a Sea of Trouble for Fishing Fleet
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Press Herald] By Tom Bell - February 18, 2015 -
With temperatures failing to climb above normal all month, sea travel is inhibited for all but the biggest and best-equipped vessels.
Standing in the wheelhouse of the tug Andrew McAllister as it approached Portland Harbor on Friday, Capt. Bob Rand steered around Spring Point and ran into a pack of ice.
“It’s like we’re entering the Northwest Passage,” said Rand, referring to the Arctic sea route.
The harbor’s fishing fleet has suffered the most. The ice has trapped some boats at their berths. A much bigger blow, though, has been the series of storms that have swept through the region in recent weeks, keeping fishing boats in port. The volume of fish landed at Portland Fish Exchange from Jan. 15 to Feb. 16 was down 54 percent from the same period last year.
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