Recently, we joined Coastal Enterprises, Inc, (CEI) based in Maine, for a bicoastal discussion on the Partners of Commercial Fishermen (POCF) podcast. Together we discussed fishing communities, family businesses, and natural-resource-based economies. The podcast is hosted by Megan Waldrep, who is a writer, speaker, and founder of Partners of Commercial Fishermen, an online space to empower fishermen’s partners through support, education, and community worldwide. POCFs are the anchors at home, decision-makers, financial planners, often full-time parents, entrepreneurs, sometimes fishers themselves, and dedicated fishery advocates – keeping life steady despite the unpredictability of fishing seasons.
Bicoastal perspectives
Both California FarmLink and CEI are Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) serving commercial fishers. Noah Strouse, Senior Loan Officer & Strategic Initiatives Manager at FarmLink, outlines how nonprofit CDFIs uniquely serve farmers, ranchers, and fishers. Hugh Cowperthwaite, Senior Program Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture at CEI, speaks with 35 years of experience working in Maine’s fishing industry, including more than 20 years in fishing programs and lending at CEI. Hugh and Noah compare California, where most FarmLink clients are wild-catch fishers, and Maine, where most CEI clients in the industry are aquaculture related. Megan, who is a partner of a commercial fisherman, guides the conversation with firsthand experience as a member of a fishing family, and as a manager of the family’s bookkeeping. Together, they focus on financial services and assistance offered by the two organizations, the impact capital supporting our lending, and programs helping fishers maintain and grow their businesses - including our Resilerator™ course, which now includes fishers.
Access to fair and flexible loans is crucial to sustaining fishers' livelihoods, especially due to incomes that can be highly seasonal. To help manage cash flow, Noah explains, “We have flexibility to set up repayments on a schedule that makes sense for the business. Sometimes we can focus on payments only during the season when you have revenue coming in…and sometimes, instead of monthly, we can do bimonthly or every six months.”
Loans can help cover vessels, engine upgrades, maintenance, and the unexpected. Like farmers, fishers face high costs of entry to start a business, complex regulations, and the inherent risks of making a living from Mother Nature. Both CEI and FarmLink offer affordable interest rates from 5% to around 8% and help people access and manage credit. “There are all sorts of challenges with collateral in commercial fishing,” Noah explains, “like vessels are collateral, but there are risks associated with that. And [fishing] permits are these intangible assets that are kind of difficult to use as collateral for a lot of lenders, but we are able to tap them as collateral.”
Circumstances for fishers in California
Due to salmon or crab season closures and other disasters in California, Noah discusses how we can help borrowers with disaster assistance much like what we offer farmers. Despite the risks, we value supporting economic opportunity in community-scale West Coast fishing. For example, our Land Portal recently posted its first seaweed harvest business, located in Sonoma County. On both coasts, CDFIs are working to help fishing businesses build resilience. “Whatever you're trying to do with your fishing business, we're here to support you,” Noah concludes, ”whether it's a loan or a class. We want to see the industry grow.”
The Partners of Commercial Fishermen community exists to uplift those who support others, providing connection, resources, and unwavering support for this unique way of life. Learn more at POCFPride.com
