A letter from Barnacle Bill: New Bedford Number One Fishing Port In America…..Oh How Far You Have Fallen

abandoned pope island strip club. Popes Island, N.B.

It is no secret that New Bedford is not the fishing port it once was. If it retains it’s title as the number one fishing port in 2019 then that just goes to show how bad things have gotten in the fishing industry as a whole. There is one thing that is certain the amount of money that is actually going to the people who catch the fish is at an all time low. Between quota lease and falling crew shares due to increased costs in the difficult environment the workers are getting less and the boat owners and fish lords are getting more.

This loss of wages is putting a strain on the little fishing communities all along the coasts of the United States. With even the so called friends of fishermen like the Cape Cod Hook Association and The National Fisherman Magazine supporting quotas and every type of closure area you can think of from monuments to buffer zones it is a wonder the little fishing communities and their small businesses can survive. In the number one fish port the waterfront is full of closed stores and tied up fishing vessels. NOAA and the New England Fishing Council have killed the jobs not just for fishermen but for many businesses and the people they once employed.

Even the nice young ladies that were once employed at the gentleman’s club on Pope’s Island have lost their jobs and have had to relocate inland. The days of fishermen’s daughters working their way through college one dollar bill at a time are over in New Bedford a city which once proudly supported over 135 brothels on the waterfront cannot even support one lousy strip club. It is a travesty and a national outrage how far we have fallen and I for one am not putting up with it.

We as fishermen need to take a stand and put a stop to these repeated calls for new closure areas, monuments, and buffer zones. We need to oppose quota systems that create wealthy fish lords and impoverished waterfronts. Write the New England Fishery Management Council, write your local politicians and do it NOW! The days of temporarily rich fishermen putting young ladies through college may be over, but perhaps we can save something of what is left.You can tell the worthless bastards Barnacle Bill sent you.