By Jason Smith | Undercurrent News
Curtis 'Arne' Arnesen - Commercial Banking Team Leader
SEATTLE, Washington -- A lender to US West Coast fishers has seen a surge in new vessel builds as optimism rises about the prospects of several fisheries that have suffered tough times as of late.
Speaking to Undercurrent News at Seattle's recent Pacific Marine Expo, Curtis Arnesen of Bellingham, Washington-headquartered Peoples Bank said that two recent strong Alaska salmon seasons with higher prices, the ebbing of El Nino, and depleted frozen inventories for squid, Dungeness crab and other species, have contributed to increased optimism among harvesters.
“What’s great this year is we’ve seen an uptick in new builds," Arnesen said. "It sort of ebbs and flows and is a nice barometer of the health of the industry. When prices are down, guys just aren’t building boats.”
Arnesen said that his bank recently completed "around a half-dozen" new builds and is aware of several financed by others that are also keeping shipyards busy. Ready more...