Online Fish Market
A computerized marketing system said to be revolutionizing the fish business in New England was an attention-getter during the Long Island Fishermen's Forum on Jan. 17.
The Buyers and Sellers Exchange, known by its acronym, BASE, operates from Homer's Wharf in New Bedford, Mass. Richard Canastra, a spokesman, told fishermen that their New England counterparts were seeing higher prices for their product, the latest price information, and more marketing opportunities, all thanks to an online system linking fishermen, buyers, and buyers' representatives who check on the quality of a catch at display auctions. A similar system is used throughout Europe.
Computer Bidding
He asked fishermen to consider BASE as an alternative to dealing with New York's Fulton Fish Market.
Mr. Canastra visited the forum at the request of Robert Link, president of Mariculture Technologies Inc., the company that plans to grow summer flounder (fluke) on 200 acres of leased bottomland off of Plum Island. Mr. Link said he would use BASE to market his farmed fish.
The vast majority of fish caught by Long Island's market fishermen are sent to New York City's Fulton Market on consignment - that is, the final price is not known until after the fish is shipped.
More Buyers
Like the Fulton Market, BASE requires that a catch be shipped to a designated facility to be displayed, inspected for quality, and bid on. Unlike the Fulton Market, the BASE system includes many more buyers bidding on a catch via computer. Agents hired by individual buyers, or groups of seafood customers, recommend bids based on firsthand inspections.
Using their personal computers, fishermen are able to learn "what's being hailed," i.e., what fish are being sold, and how many boats have landed the same species. Price trends can be determined in this way.
BASE can also arrange deals with fishermen for future catches, finding customers willing to pay in advance for a certain amount of fish to be delivered at a later date. Mr. Canastra said it was possible for fishermen to be paid daily and that the efficiency of the system enabled the market to pass along more money to the fishermen. BASE charges four cents per pound for the service.
Better Records
Fishermen said that when "daytripping," they could wait no later than 7 p.m. to decide where to ship their fish. Not a problem, Mr. Canastra said, adding that the price could be decided before shipping.
He admitted that the logistics and cost of shipping from Long Island was an unknown. "If there's enough volume, we could set up a big cooler to hold the display auction on Long Island," he suggested.
An extra benefit was improved record-keeping. Fishermen received a hard copy receipt of their transaction and were able to access their landing histories at any time. "The permanent data base saves time and money," Mr. Canastra said. And, he added, the system was being viewed favorably by the Federal agents who collect landing data.
Better Records
Mr. Link, a longtime fish dealer before entering the mariculture business, told fishermen, "I've traveled all over the country selling dead fish. New York is an enigma. You guys are getting the worst deal all the time. You've got the commodity, you should get more money," he said.