A company that’s been supplying Gloucester fishermen with ice for decades is for sale as the fishing industry faces a brutal 2013.
The owner of Cape Pond Ice Co. tells the Gloucester Times that he has no choice as local fishermen absorb a 77 percent decrease in their cod catch this fishing year, which starts May 1.
Scott Memhard is asking $2 million for the property, which includes 180 feet of dockage where boats stop to ice up before heading out.
The business has diversified as the local fishing industry has declined. It increased T-shirt sales after a character wore a Cape Pond Ice shirt in the movie The Perfect Storm. He also marketed his ice for cocktails.
But he said the drastically declining fish catch is too damaging to his core business.
2013. Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.