[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13632]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING OAK ISLAND SEAFOOD, INC.

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I wish today to recognize for the 
week of May 20 an outstanding small business from my home State of 
Maine that will on May 31 receive the Maine Exporter of the Year Award 
for 2007 from the Maine International Trade Center. Oak Island Seafood, 
Inc., of Rockland, MA is a scallop processing company. In addition to 
providing quality seafood products to U.S. retailers, Oak Island 
Seafood has expanded to include Europe and Asia in its distribution 
network. Incredibly, 70 percent of its finished product is exported to 
other countries, most notably to nations within the European Union. 
Clearly, Oak Island Seafood is a Maine company that has wide, 
international reach.
  Oak Island Seafood, founded in 1995, has expanded to serve many 
corners of the globe over the past 12 years, while simultaneously 
maintaining its status as a unique small business. The company employs 
roughly 30 year-round employees in Rockland, an historic seaport 
community in Maine's well-known midcoast region where Penobscot Bay 
converges with the Atlantic Ocean. Their use of state-of-the-art 
equipment to deliver Maine seafood to the rest of the world exemplifies 
the innovation that small businesses can use to do exceptional things.
  With Maine's 5,500 miles of coastline, its fishing and seafood 
industries are clearly vital to the State's economy. And while everyone 
knows Maine for its lobster--which I would argue is the best--Maine's 
fruitful portion of the Atlantic Ocean and our many waterways provide a 
variety of delicious and often healthy fish and shellfish, including 
salmon, shrimp, and scallops. Oak Island Seafood's commitment to 
providing Maine seafood to not only the region but also to the rest of 
the world is remarkable. As fish and other fresh and frozen seafood 
products comprise Maine's No. 4 export industry, it is crucial that we 
find ways to continue augmenting the work that Oak Island Seafood and 
other companies do in seeking foreign markets to showcase Maine 
seafood. Equally necessary, we need to do all that we can to protect 
and preserve our seafaring families and the crucial work they 
undertake.
  The Maine International Trade Center, which is presenting the Maine 
Exporter of the Year award to Oak Island Seafood, is Maine's small 
business link to the rest of the world. It is a public-private 
partnership between the State of Maine and its businesses. The center's 
goal is to increase international trade in Maine and in particular to 
assist Maine's businesses in exporting goods and services. Clearly it 
sees in Oak Island Seafood the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation 
that make Maine's small businesses so unique and successful.
  I again congratulate Oak Island Seafood on being recognized Maine 
Exporter of the Year and wish them well. The award, which will be 
presented to them on Thursday, May 31, at the 27th annual Maine 
International Trade Day, is truly something of which we can and should 
all be proud.

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