Pacific Seafood, Oregon Clash Over Newport Expansion

NEWPORT — Pacific Seafood Group, the industry’s billion-dollar behemoth, has thoroughly shaken up this bustling commercial fishing town with an expansion blitz that will increase its already dominant market position.

But before going ahead with a deal to buy the hulking Trident Seafoods processing plant in the heart of Newport’s Bayfront, the biggest player in the West Coast seafood business made what one lawmaker called an “unprecedented request.”

Pacific is willing to complete the deal, keep the Trident plant open and hire nearly 150 seasonal employees, but only if the Oregon Department of Justice guarantees there would be no objections to the deal later.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Oregonian