Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X X V O C T O B E R 3 0 , 2 0 2 3 14 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E Husson president to retire After nearly 15 years as president and CEO of Husson University, Robert Clark said he plans to retire in December 2024. He is currently the lon- gest-serving president of any four-year college or university in Maine, according to Husson. His career in higher educa- tion spans more than 40 years. Clark began his tenure as president and CEO in January 2010. (e CEO role denoted his oversight of finances and HR.) Under Clark, more than 10,000 students have graduated from the university. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N GrowSmart Maine received a $304,636 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development pro- gram to provide "community build- ing" training, technical assistance and grants to 10 rural communities: Calais, Danforth, Enfield, Houlton, Machias, Mexico, Presque Isle, Roque Bluffs, Skowhegan and Winn. www.cportcu.org Jennifer and Katie Capron Katie Made Bakery See Katie Made Bakery's Voyage www.cportcu.org/voyages Portland • Scarborough • Augusta • www.cportcu.org Federally Insured by NCUA Financed by Sweet Neighbors. Two sisters preserve the charm of Munjoy Hill on Portland's East End. N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N B R I E F Oversight of the Portland Fish Exchange could change under proposal B y W i l l i a m H a l l T he Portland Fish Exchange, the financially struggling auc- tion house where southern Maine's daily catch has been bought and sold since 1986, may soon have a new operator. The exchange is poised to merge into the Portland Fish Pier Authority, which oversees the city-owned wharf on Commercial Street, after leaders from both quasi-public organizations last week unanimously recommended the tie-up. The authority's board of directors was scheduled to review a merger plan on Oct. 25. It may then recommend an action to the City Council, which would have the final say. The fish exchange, on the eastern side of the pier, houses auctions of fresh seafood and acts as a financial intermediary for buying and selling. On most days of the week, commercial fishing vessels offload at the exchange, which sorts, grades and weighs the fish. They are then held in the facility's 22,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse awaiting auction buyers. But in recent years the Portland Fish Exchange has had to contend with fewer groundfish landings, as well as declining revenues and the effects of changes in climate, regulations and the economy. The challenges have led the exchange to consider various business responses, including a proposal last year to outsource some functions. The exchange has also turned frequently to the author- ity for financial help. In fact, at the Oct. 25 meeting the authority was also scheduled to consider a request to fund $45,000 toward the exchange's current $125,000 budget deficit. The exchange was also asking for $15,000 to help pay its share of costs for a new ice machine. Robert Odlin, president of the Portland Fish Exchange, wrote in an Oct. 10 memo that the deficit is "based on many factors" including fish landings, property maintenance, pay- roll "and the general effects of inflation on the cost of doing business in Maine this year." Under the proposed merger plan, the exchange would continue to do business and would be an operational unit of the Portland Fish Pier Authority. Newly caught fish are sorted at the Portland Fish Exchange in this file photo from 2020. F I L E P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R

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