Cold Storage & Processing Equipment Upgrades

New England Fishmongers is a commercial fishery operating out of Dover, New Hampshire, bringing a range of sustainably caught fish from dock-to-door to customers throughout the region. Owners Tim Rider and Kayla Cox believe in creating a closer connection between the consumer and the harvester of the seafood, in an effort to celebrate the natural marine resources available in New England. 

At the heart of their business are the goals to support and broaden sustainable and adaptive fishing practices, to serve independent fishers who utilize those practices, and to sell their customers responsibly sourced fish. Fishers themselves, Tim and Kayla bring to market their own New England catch, as well as wild Alaskan salmon and wild Gulf shrimp they source from independent fishers around the country. 

Use of Funds

The success of New England Fishmongers has driven up demand for the high quality fish they catch and source. In 2020, they regularly sold out at markets, sometimes within hours, and their limited cold storage and processing capabilities made it difficult to keep up. In 2020, they grossed over $1 million in sales alone, and they expect to reach $1.5 million in sales in 2021. Their goal is to sell $2 million of seafood in 2022.

To sustain their growth without sacrificing the quality of their product, they’ll be using this Steward loan to purchase cold storage infrastructure and a new tabletop fillet skinning machine, and to make some other processing improvements. These upgrades will allow them to maximize their efficiency in their own fishing and sourcing, and to sell blast-frozen and properly-stored fish year-round.

Regenerative & Sustainable Practices

Sustainability in fishing is tied both to the methods used to catch fish and to the relationships cultivated between customers and fishers. Conventional trawlers that scrape the seafloor and destroy fish habitats while decimating fish populations in order to get fish en-masse to market are the exact opposite of sustainable fishing. Tim and Kayla have built sustainable practices into New England Fishmongers in a number of ways:

• Their hook-and-line jig boat, outfitted with eight automatic jig machines, allows them to catch a healthy number of fish in a manner beneficial to wild fisheries. Unlike the dragger-dominated fishery of most of New England, they utilize fishing methods that have less impact on the seafloor.
  
  
• They support independent wild fishers who also use sustainable methods, and they pay those fishers sustainable prices for the higher-quality product they catch.
  
  
• They educate their customers about proper management and conservation of wild fisheries.

Lender Incentives

Participating lenders can expect to receive products from New England Fishmongers when lending at the following tiers:

• $750: New England Fishmongers Branded Hoodie
  
  
• $1,500: Mixed 5-Lb Seafood Box
  
  
• $3,000: Mixed 10-Lb Seafood Box
  
  
• $10,000: Three 10-Lb Mixed Seafood Boxes
  
  
• $25,000: Six 10-Lb Mixed Seafood Boxes
  
  
• $50,000: Ten 10-Lb Mixed Seafood Boxes

Given the logistical challenges of transport, participating lenders outside of the region will have the option to donate their product incentive to a local family in need, happily facilitated by New England Fishmongers.

New England Fishmongers is able to ship frozen product to participating lenders in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York.