Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – If fish is considered brain food, there are a lot of smart people in Presque Isle and the surrounding area who have discovered the Fishermen’s Net, the city’s only fish market.
Owner Ben Lindner opened the 93 State St. location Dec. 24, 2009.
“The bulk of our product are Maine items such as steamers, scallops, salmon, haddock, lobsters, live crabs and Maine shrimp,” he said. “We have those every day of the week … as long as we don’t sell out.
“We have other items like fresh tuna and squid,” said Lindner. “We can get anything to order, as well. Ninety percent of our product comes from Maine. The lobsters come anywhere from Portland, Brunswick, Friendship, Rockland, Ellsworth … all the way up the coast.”
Lindner said there are no preservatives in the fish that’s sold at the Fishermen’s Net.
“We cut our own and bring good products to the consumers,” he said, noting that the seafood is sold by the pound. “We’re basically what you’d see on the waterfront at the ocean … just in Aroostook County. The majority of the seafood comes from anywhere up the coast. We have multiple suppliers … we deal with anybody that treats us well and has the quantity and quality.
“My tank system is up-and-running. I hauled ocean water up last week; not chemical water. It’s crystal clear and ice cold. The tank will hold 800 pounds of live lobsters and live crabs.”
Lindner is from Island Falls while his wife, Lori, is from Limestone.
“We both went to the University of Maine at Presque Isle,” he said. “We have two little kids and wanted to come back up here and see if Presque Isle needed a fish market.”
The answer was a resounding, “Yes.”
“The response has been excellent,” said Lindner. “Most people who come in actually thank me for opening the business.
“We also have a Fishermen’s Net in Portland complete with our own cutting room. We cut thousands of pounds of haddock each week. It’s all fresh fillet for the most part,” he said. “The Portland market is managed by Rob Thibodeau of Caribou. We also have another business in Gray. My mom owns that one. They’re all family-owned businesses.”
Lindner has a courier that trucks the seafood up to Presque Isle, while other times he heads downstate to pick up the product and suppliers also come to the door.
“Any day of the week I’m getting product in,” he said. “It comes in the back door and goes out the front door just as quick.
“The haddock and the lobsters are probably what consumers buy the most,” said Lindner. “I’ve had people from Fort Kent, Caribou and beyond – with 60 to 70 miles – stopping by. People like the fact that it’s fresh.”
Ironically, Lindner had the idea for a fish market in Presque Isle seven years ago.
“I actually wrote a paper about it in college. I think I got a C on it,” he laughed.
In addition to Lindner, the fish market employs one part-time employee.
“Once I’m operating fully, we’ll be picking fresh lobster meat and cook the lobsters to order so there will probably be a need to hire more employees. We pick the meat and cook the lobsters now, but not full-scale. I need to get a bigger cooker to do that.”
The Fishermen’s Net is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
For more information, call 762-3782.
BEN LINDNER, owner of the Fishermen’s Net in Presque Isle, displays some of the live lobsters for sale at the city’s new fish market. Located at 93 State St., Lindner said the bulk of the Fishermen’s Net product comes from Maine including steamers, scallops, salmon, haddock, lobsters, live crabs and Maine shrimp.
