QuickBooks for Seafood Harvesters: Managing Your Business Finances
Local Catch Network will be launching a hands-on QuickBooks workshop this fall designed specifically for those managing the financial records of commercial fishing businesses.
The workshop is open to commercial harvesters, seafood business owners, captains, and any other individuals who are responsible for the financial records of a fishing or aquaculture operation. No accounting or QuickBooks experience required.
The workshop will begin with four recorded prep sessions that will go live on September 22, 2026. Led by Winona Dorris, workshop participants will work through examples and exercises in QuickBooks that reflect the financial realities of running a seafood business, and practice how to use a bookkeeping system designed for their operations. Participants should come prepared to work through the examples and exercises provided during the workshop in order to leave with skills they can apply to managing the business side of their fishing operations.
Following the launch of the recorded prep sessions there will be a live webinar in late 2026 (date TBD) where participants will be walked step-by-step through:
Recording harvesting income and seafood sales
Tracking common fishing and vessel expenses
Managing crew/employee payments
Reviewing financial reports
This workshop is part of Local Catch Network’s Seafood Academy, a new series of webinars, events, and workshops designed to support seafood businesses operating within fishing communities.The series aims to address barriers fishermen face related to direct marketing and help seafood producers become more competitive in the marketplace.
Who Is Local Catch Network?
Local Catch Network (LCN) was established in 2011 at the University of Maine to provide support, knowledge exchange, and innovation for local and community-based seafood businesses. Their mission is, “To cultivate vibrant community-based seafood systems and the people, businesses, and organizations that support them.” While founded in Maine, the LCN network now includes members in communities across the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, and Indigenous territories.
