Tag Archives: support networks and agitators

From Oregon to Massachusetts, fishermen’s wives associations are the backbones of their communities

In spring 2020, the fishing community of Newport, Oregon, shuttered along with the rest of the country. A coronavirus outbreak at a local Pacific Seafood processing plant left fishermen sitting on docks with no buyers for their Dungeness crabs, while restaurants closed and families found themselves housebound. That’s when Taunette Dixon and her organization, the Newport Fishermen’s Wives, stepped in.,,, In Massachusetts, the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association was founded in 1969. “We were shore captains,” said Angela Sanfilippo. “We would make sure when the boats came in, they’d get everything they needed so they could go back out the next morning at 2.30. The wife would be responsible to make sure these things happened. As their wives, we knew more than them.” >click to read< 11:32