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Committee discusses operating hours, staff, aquaculture activities and on‑site equipment
Summary
Members reviewed staffing levels, aquaculture operations (kelp, oysters), plans for an ice machine and ideas to test extended hours or on‑call services for small day boats. The group agreed to survey fleet members and to pull together prioritized action items for the board.
The committee discussed a range of operational items including staffing, aquaculture projects, an in‑progress ice machine installation, and whether to pilot extended offloading hours to capture additional small‑boat landings.
Nick (buyer) reported the ice machine installation is under way: “They’re installing it right now,” he said. Members said improved on‑site services — such as extended offload hours or on‑call staff late in the day — could help small day boats take advantage of favorable weather windows and thereby increase total landings.
Robert (staff member) described current staffing: the authority’s floor crew and processing staff total roughly 11–12 regularly scheduled workers, with several part‑time employees available; staff also noted recent hires and ongoing training. He also summarized prior aquaculture support: the exchange has hosted kelp and oyster operations in the past and stocked cold‑storage benches for over‑wintering seed and small processing runs; past trials lost money in early years but more recent arrangements approached break‑even, and the exchange maintains some equipment from prior oyster/kelp projects.
Members emphasized gathering direct input from boat captains. The committee proposed a short written survey and a targeted in‑person outreach (guided conversations at the exchange or a small forum) to identify top operational priorities for buyers and fishermen. The committee also suggested a fee‑for‑service pilot (for example, an extra small handling surcharge to fund limited after‑hours offloading) as a potential funding model for extended hours.
Directions and next steps: Committee members agreed to draft a short survey for the fleet and buyers, assign volunteers to carry out outreach, and report consolidated feedback back to the subcommittee. Staff will also provide updated staffing rosters and a short status report on the new ice machine at the next meeting.
Ending: Committee members said operational changes should be tested on a pilot basis before permanent adjustments to hours or staffing; the group set a follow‑up subcommittee meeting in the coming weeks to review survey results and vendor/installation updates.
