From the [1] Newburyport Daily News:

Fisherman’s Co-op works to keep industry alive Yankee Co-op hopes to bolster local fishermen’s sales

By Angeljean Chiaramida
Staff writer

SEABROOK — Yankee Fisherman’s Co-op’s experimental move to sell fish directly to consumers at farmers markets has been such a success, the organization is taking to cyberspace, launching a Web site allowing residents and businesses on both sides of the border access to fish freshly caught from the Gulf of Maine.

In January, the 61 members of the only commercial fishermen’s cooperative left along this stretch of the Atlantic made the bold move of selling to consumers at enclosed New Hampshire farmers markets. The decision was an attempt to help the region’s beleaguered 400-year-old commercial fishing industry survive.

“The idea worked,” said co-op manager Robert Campbell, laughing. “How about that?”

The co-op’s endeavor corresponded with the Granite State’s Buy Local campaign, intended to help local farmers, bakers, food processors and dairy producers by encouraging the region’s consumers to buy locally grown and made food.

Some farmers markets, once considered only a summer activity, are now enclosed and open year-round, allowing the co-op to continue selling fresh Gulf of Maine shrimp to those who buy into their program.

“Exeter’s (indoor) farmers market feels having us there with the seafood draws more people to the market,” Campbell said.

Campbell is also working with Newburyport’s farmers market in hopes of taking part in that as well. Newburyport’s market just closed for the winter.

But for those looking for added convenience, and for those living across the border in Massachusetts, Yankee Fisherman’s Co-op has launched its Web site, [2] www.yankeefish.com, through which consumers can buy into an eight-week shrimp share program. Restaurants can also use the site to access freshly caught fish like cod, haddock, flounder and lobsters wholesale directly from the co-op, with no middlemen in between.

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