Nestled in the middle of a group of picturesque and expensive vacation homes, the weathered 2700-foot wharf on 540-feet of historic shoreline looks like it might be out of place.
On the Maine coast, maybe it is the other way around. Thanks to Maine taxpayers, the Pemaquid Fishermans’ Co-Op is likely to be there for a long time.
“We are going to grow. Unless you grow, you die,” said Wayne Dighton, 34, the co-op’s general manager.
Recently, the co-op was paid $265,400 to sign a protective covenant with the state that forever restricts the use of their property to commercial fisheries.
The covenant deal was part of the Maine Working Waterfront Access Pilot Program, a joint program of the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Land for Maine’s Future Program.
As one of the oldest fishing cooperatives in the nation, the Pemaquid group has 23 fishermen that bring their lobsters to the dock. The state funding will permit them to construct a chilled seawater holding tank to store their catch until it can be marketed.
In addition, they are constructing a certified clam buying station to benefit local clam diggers.
In both cases, they will also use the catch to sell to the public in their decidedly low-tech restaurant, located just up the hill from the wharf.
For the lobstermen, the co-op tank means their product is likely to be in better shape for the market.
“Typically, each lobster is handled five or six times before it reaches the customer’s plate. Each time it is handled, it stresses the lobster, making it more likely to be injured or die.
Our fishermen will grade each lobster when caught and put their catch directly into the tank. That way, we don’t have to handle it before shipping it out,” Dighton said.
The new clam buying station will serve the many clam diggers in the area. Many diggers launch their skiffs from the little harbor just across from the co-op.
“It will help the clammers in two ways,” he said.
“First, they won’t have to drive to Damariscotta or Wiscasset to sell their clams. Second, we will be able to give them a better price, because we will take them directly into our restaurant,” Dighton said.
Clam diggers are typically paid around $35 a bushel for their product. The buyer usually adds overhead and transportation to the amount he pays the diggers and sells a bushel to the restaurant for around $75, he said.
“We will be able to pay the clam diggers a little bit more than the other buyers and we will be able to buy the clams for our restaurant at a lower price,” he said.
Both new facilities are expected to be completed just as soon as Dighton can complete the paperwork and obtain town permits.
Meanwhile, workers are installing a new roof on the restaurant and a pile of piles is sitting near the wharf waiting to be driven into the harbor bed to shore up the elderly wharf. Their marine railway already has been upgraded.
As Dighton talks about other improvements like new lights and new scales and the new lobster tank, he admits the $265,400 will soon be spent.
Then he points to the restaurant, which opens this week for the season.
“We don’t have beer and liquor, we don’t have a raw bar, we don’t have a lot of other features other restaurants feature,” he said.
They keep it a low- tech family-style restaurant that is a lot different from other eateries on the coast, like the popular Shaw’s Fish and Lobster Wharf in New Harbor.
“We did a survey and our customers said they were glad we were not Shaw’s. Believe me, we are not Shaw’s,” he said.
Still, the lack of fancy frills does not deter the customers to the Co-Op restaurant.
“Last year, a Boston TV station came up here and they said we served the best lobster roll in the world. The very next day, we had folks drive up here from Boston just to eat one,” Dighton said.
For the record, their lobster roll is packed with meat and served on a large roll. It is a meal and costs $14.95. Dighton promises customers will not be disappointed.
“Most lobster rolls are served on a hot dog roll. If I want to eat a hot dog roll, I will eat a hot dog,” Dighton said. “If I want a lobster roll, I will walk up the hill.”