PORTLAND, Maine — A deal is close to save the plant that was the nation's last sardine cannery and use it to process lobsters and other types of seafood, the Maine governor's office said Thursday.
A seafood-processing company has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to buy the Stinson Seafood plant from Bumble Bee Foods LLC, said David Farmer, spokesman for Gov. John Baldacci. He did not name the prospective buyer.
The announcement came on the final day of sardine processing at the plant in the eastern Maine village of Prospect Harbor. Its closing marks the end of 135 years of sardine processing in the United States.
A new owner would use the plant to process lobster and other seafood, but probably not sardines — any of dozens of small, oily, cold-water fish that are part of the herring family.
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