If all goes according to plan, a new lobster processing plant, buying only from local fishermen, will open in Tenants Harbor in mid-July.

In 2008, the Great Eastern Mussel Farm on Tenants Harbor closed its doors. In 2010, Kyle Murdock, owner of Sea Hag Holdings, bought the facility on seven acres of waterfront land.

For the last two years, the 22-year-old has been renovating the facility into a brand new lobster processing plant.

Lobster processing refers to taking lobsters that can't be sold live and turning out various products for food service companies. The products can be fresh or frozen, and include just parts such as the tail or claw and leg meat, or an entire lobster still in the shell.

Currently an addition is being put on the building and some of the inside is still being remodeled. "It's a huge project that requires a lot of coordination," Murdock said. If construction stays on schedule the plant should begin operations in the second week of July.

The plant means more business for local lobster merchants, as Murdock plans to only buy from locals.

"We want to have the most impact we possibly can on the local economy," he said. "We are always open to new ways of working with the fishing community."

Since the plant will process a great deal of lobster every day, most of the lobsters they buy will come from wharves where the lobster boats unload, though plans are in development to buy directly from local lobstermen in the near future.

It also means more jobs for the region. Murdock has been interviewing people for approximately 30 positions that will need to be filled when the plant opens, and is still seeking quality employees. He hopes that within five years, the plant will employ around 100 people as the business expands.

Most of the current jobs are seasonal, but as the company grows and they spread out into new markets (possibly including other kinds of seafood such as oysters) more of the jobs will become full-time, year-round positions. Murdock plans to provide on-the-job training for new hires with "aggressive raises as they progress through the training phase."

Investors involved with the project are mostly people interested in keeping Maine's working waterfront viable and are looking to create more jobs in the region. "We are still looking for more investors," Murdock said.

Murdock first got the idea to open the business a few years ago when the market value of Maine's lobster harvest suddenly plunged. Many lobstermen were unable to stay in business as the costs to haul, including fuel and bait, continued to rise as the value of their product dropped.

When he was driving back from college one weekend to visit his parents, he was thinking about what it would take to start a lobster processing company in Midcoast Maine, and how more local processing would help to increase and stabilize the volatile lobster price.

"Before the conclusion of my drive, I realized it wasn't an insurmountable project, and that it was something that I could take on," Murdock said.

Murdock grew up on Monhegan Island, a community where lobstering is central to life. His father and brother are both lobstermen, and Murdock hopes they will sell lobsters to him when the season begins. When he was younger, he had a student license fishing lobsters by hand, and has worked on a boat as a sternman. He also has picked up a considerable amount of knowledge and experience while developing the business.

Family has been important to Murdock in this project.

"Both my parents help me with and advise me on the various aspects of running a business and a construction project," he said. The name of the company (Sea Hag Holdings) has family roots – his father's lobster boat is named the Sea Hag, and his parents used to run a seafood takeout restaurant called Sea Hag Seafood.

"I actually have some of the old signs from it, which I will be hanging up down here," Murdock said.