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V O L . X X I N O. X I X A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 1 5 18 T E C H N O L O G Y F O C U S Online auctions Technology can both help get informa- tion on available catches to buyers more quickly, as well as help eliminate wads of paper forms. Just ask Bert Jongerden, general manager of the Portland Fish Exchange Inc., which in 2008 put its auction online at the request of buyers. "Buyers had to pay $50,000 to have someone here to look at the fi sh," he says. And an auctioneer also was expen- sive, as was the extra administrative per- son needed to handle the paper data. "Our role for fi shermen is to pro- vide a market," he says. " ey call us 1-2 days before coming in, and proces- sors and buyers can presell the fi sh." About 21 buyers participate in the auction, which runs Sunday through ursday. It starts at 11 a.m. and runs till all the fi sh are sold, which can be as fast as 45 minutes or up to two hours, he says. e auction days are set up so fi sh- ermen have a good chance to sell to New York's huge Fulton Fish market, which opens on Monday. He says the auction is helping fi sh- ermen, as every buyer needs a letter of credit, so the boat is paid right away instead of the 30- to 90-day delays they used to incur. "Technology has helped us save money and get a lot more information," Jongerden says. "It interfaces with our website, and there is a PFEX.org app for smartphones with the auction hails on any given day and the seafood prices." One thing that concerns him is the upcoming requirement in October that fi shing boats have scanners that would replace the observers. ose observers typically now go on 20% of trips, mostly to measure bycatch. e sensors, which would record data to be looked at later by the National Marine Fisheries Service, could assure the catch being brought in, but they also could pose privacy issues. "Boats don't have latrines. Fishermen go on a bucket on the deck," says Jongerden, who expects there to be a lot of contention over the scanners, which the boats might have to pay for. Right now, NMFS pays for the observers. Getting wired Calloused hands and multi-part forms often don't go together, but at the urging of his banker, Albert Culver, owner, president and CEO of A.C. Inc., a Beals island distributor of lobster, scallops, clams and other shellfi sh, realized he had to get his fi nances in order. e fi rst thing he did was talked to Susan Corbett, CEO of Axiom Tech- nologies in Machias, which had pulled in four State of Maine ConnectME grants totaling $900,000 to put high- speed Internet service at 90 Access Points across Washington county. One tower ended up in Culver's backyard. "Six years ago we were doing ledger books and paper trails," says Culver, the third generation in his family to run the business, which has 35 employees. "We had a severe lack of information on what we were buying and selling and on our profi t mar- gin. But to grow, my banker told me I needed this information on a daily basis." He said he sometimes waited three months to get end-of-month fi gures. He now uses an accounting software program called Net Yield designed by LAN Infosystems Inc. of Plymouth, Mass. "I've also gone to voice recognition because I can't type or spell. But it's been interesting," he said through a thick Down East accent. Over the past six years the company also set up a website that lists the products he sells and that can be bought online and has links to tide and other data from NOAA and a Facebook page. He also can now keep continual track of water temperatures, which can give an idea of where certain fi sh might be. "We can do inventory control, expenses, costing and other things. e software shows you trends and how much products cost diff erently and the amount of money day-to-day," he says. "Before we operated on assumptions. Now we can look at our profi t margins daily. We can catch problems and good things earlier." L o r i Va l i g r a , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t lva l i g r a @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ L Va l i g r a Since 1994, our team of IT Recruiters has delivered talent from around the country for our Maine based clients. 775-7600 www.psicareers.com Local Focus. National Reach. Established 1994 – Portland, Maine Temporary Staffing — Recruiting Services — IT Contract Solutions PORTLANDGLASS.COM PORTLANDGLASS.COM » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were Six years ago we were doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and doing ledger books and paper trails. We had a severe lack of information on what we were buying and selling and on our profit margin. But to grow, my banker told me I needed this information on a daily basis. — Albert Culver, owner of A.C. Inc.

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