NEWPORT — Jeff Boardman has been a shrimp fisherman for three decades, plying the waters of the Oregon Coast at the helm of the Miss Yvonne.
He’s an agile businessman, moving his homeport from Yaquina Bay to Charleston last year because that’s where the shrimp were, so he could cut fuel costs. His fleet caught 9 million more pounds of shrimp in 2010 than it did the year before. And the crustacean’s price at the marketplace has enjoyed a steady climb over the years. But Boardman, 51, lost money in 2009, and broke even last year only because he caught more shrimp. That’s because, despite increased costs in everything from fuel to boat maintenance, the price he gets for shrimp at the processing plant is half what it was 15 years ago.
For this, Boardman squarely blames Frank Dulcich. Dulcich is president and CEO of Pacific Seafood Group, a company profiled in The Register-Guard in 2007 after a stunning two-decade rise to power. Dulcich’s business acumen and ruthless approach to competition have catapulted the Clackamas-based company into not just one of the largest seafood sellers in the country but the undisputed king, with $1 billion in global sales.
This power is facing its first real test since Dulcich began acquiring it. The Portland attorneys who successfully sued Weyerhaeuser for violating federal antitrust laws have filed a class action lawsuit against the seafood giant, alleging more than 3,000 potential plaintiffs, seeking $500 million in damages and an order forcing Dulcich to sell off much of his resources in four fisheries, from boats to processing plants.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR).