The Fishermen's Protective Union, established by William Coaker, grew into a remarkable institution with its own town, newspaper, boat yard, political party and trading company. At Seldom they established one of their earliest stores and it was these premises - which include the 19th c fish store - that were taken over by the Fogo Island Cooperative Society to serve as a Marine Information Centre. The interior of the building had been altered at an earlier stage to accommodate a manager's residence on the second floor. In the red store - originally used for making fish - a cod liver oil factory had been put in, and was preserved.

The site itself is on the water and is a major landmark in the community. An oriel window brings light into the third floor manager's office and provides a view over the harbour The old retail building now contains marina and exhibit facilities on the first floor and the whole site has been tidied up. Inside, the old general store was restored.

This is a pair of buildings that could very easily have been taken down or much altered to serve the purpose intended. It is to the credit of the co-op and their architect Robert Mellin that they saw the possibilities that the history of the building, as well as its architecture, offered and they used those features to give it a distinctiveness. With a crew under Arthur Payne, they made this concept a reality by ensuring that the restoration respected the old materials and the old forms.