Thanks to Councilor Janet Stevens for supporting local fishing industry

May 13 -- To the Editor,

We write this letter on behalf of the New Hampshire fishermen at the Portsmouth Commercial Fish Pier.

The last decade has been one of the most challenging for our iconic fishing industry here in the state, everything from more and more stringent regulations to increasing fuel and bait prices to a pandemic. We have faced every challenge and we keep this industry alive. However, one of the most daunting challenges we have faced has been watching our once thriving commercial fishing facility turn into an unsafe and barely usable structure. For years now the facilities at the Portsmouth Commercial Fish Pier, formerly functioning as the Portsmouth Fishermen’s

Cooperative, have increasingly disintegrated into the bare bones, eyesore facility that currently exists.

Collectively, we’ve worked to keep this spot, one of the last true working waterfront spaces on our coast, thriving and something that Portsmouth can be proud of. This has been incredibly challenging given the lack of funding available, however, recently, with the help of Councilwoman Janet Stevens, championing our cause, we have been able to secure $1 million in funding to replace the building.

We can’t thank Janet Stevens enough, as well as others, for working tirelessly on our behalf, to make this project happen. We recognize that, due to the number of active fishermen along the coast of New Hampshire, this was not an easy feat. We are grateful for her support for us and the industry as a whole, that she prioritized this issue. In just a short amount of time, we’ve been able to secure significant funding to begin revitalizing our fishing heritage and infrastructure in Portsmouth.

Damon Frampton, Gary Glidden, Jake Eaton, and Jillian Robillard