Prospect Harbor’s sardine cannery is about to begin a new chapter in its history as a lobster processing facility. For purchaser Antonio Bussone, the idea is new, too. Bussone, president of the Chelsea, Massachusetts-based Live Lobster Co., Inc, and Stonington-based lobster and bait company, Lobster Web Co., Inc., first began researching the pros and cons of owning a lobster processing company in December 2009.

During the winter of 2010, Bussone had Bill Damon, manager of his Stonington bait company, ask their Jonesport-based lobster broker, Toni Lilienthal, to find a town or city in Maine that would welcome a lobster processing company.

Lilienthal spoke with Bucksport’s business developers; she went to Auburn to speak to people there, and with business developers for the cities of Lewiston, Augusta, and Bangor. She researched information about existing grants to help finance such a purchase. After working all winter, Lilienthal said, “I put all my information together about what it would cost to equip a plant and how big a plant we would need.”

Then came the February announcement that on April 12th, the Prospect Harbor cannery would close. “I called Antonio who already knew about it,” she said, “so I don’t know if he was doing anything about it, but all the big companies had the news before the announcement.” Then she said, “He told me to call the governor’s office and this office and that office to see what was going on.”

Lilienthal complied with a request from the governor’s office for more information about Live Lobster. She then set up an interview with the owner of Bumblebee, Christopher Lischewski.

Because her interview with Lischewski was the weekend before the March 2010 Boston Seafood Show, which he and Bussone planned to attend, Lilienthal set up an appointment between the two company presidents during the show. After that initial meeting, Bussone took over negotiations.

Some of the considerations of buying the sardine cannery were that although it had already met HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) regulations on the type of paint on the walls for sardine processing, there would need to be a lot of upgrading and adaptation to meet HACCP rules for lobster processing. Lilienthal reported that Governor Baldacci had said he would try to hasten the process for being properly licensed. The plant had also already proved that it could handle herring, and the existing warehouse was large enough to house freezers and a lobster tank room. enormous overhead costs: electricity, alone, was reported to run $25,000 per month, and heating had to be astronomical. Then there would be the price of all new equipment for processing lobster as well as the time and labor for setting up a new business and hiring and training new personnel.

By June, Bussone appeared to be the last potential buyer standing, and from June until the  August announcements by Lischewski and Baldacci, the primary parties fine-tuned the sale.

The day Bussone released his statement he thanked the governor and his staff for all their help. In a phone interview, he made clear that it would be a couple of months before reaching the closing, but said, “I’m pretty confident that everything will be fine.” He went on to say that Governor Baldacci’s staff was helpful at all times. He said, “They were always available to answer questions or to clarify our doubts with licensing [issues].

“I think the governor has shown tremendous interest and support in this particular venture,” Bussone stated, adding, that, in his opinion, “I think he is trying to show the interest the state has for a local product and to try to maintain having it processed locally.” He went on to say, “I didn’t know the governor prior to this, but I have been extremely impressed with his work ethic and his interest in the people of Maine.”

Asked if the processing part of the business would be a joint venture, Bussone replied, “Yes, It will be a joint venture because I personally believe that there is no one company that can do it all.  We specialize in sourcing lobsters, buying them from fishermen, supplying [fishermen] with bait, servicing them-we have several plants in Maine. We bring [lobsters] in and we grade them and we prepare them for distribution to Asia, to Europe, to the domestic US. We don’t have the know-how; we don’t have the distribution lines for frozen [lobster], which is different.”

Bussone said he hopes, in a couple of weeks, to be able to make another announcement about the joint venture, saying, “In my opinion, we need several parties to come together and work things out if we want to be successful.”

But it will take more than the business people. “The local community will be very important,” Bussone stated. “We need the support of the community, the support of the fishermen, of the fishermen’s co-ops, the fishermen from Winter Harbor. It will be vital, vital for us to get their help.” He made clear that what he is trying to accomplish will be far from easy.

The purchase of the cannery comes far too late in the season to try to buy new processing equipment, set it up, hire and train employees, and process lobster this year. Bussone, therefore, decided to spend the rest of the year setting up a buying station on the property. He will also have Damon set up a lobster tank room, a branch of the bait business, and prepare to sell participating fishermen fuel for their boats. The remainder of the year will be spent purchasing and setting up equipment for the processing part of the business so it will be ready for next season. Lilienthal will continue to recruit product for the live market as well as product to be processed. Clearly, Bussone plans to take advantage of all aspects of the lobster business.

Sandra Dinsmore is a freelance writer who lives in Penobscot. She writes the Lobster Market Report for Commercial Fisheries News.