Tag Archives: Captain Tyler Miranda
Deadly fentanyl raises stakes for addicted fishermen
New Bedford fisherman Michael Kennedy, who died from a fentanyl overdose in 2022 at the age of 32. Photo provided by family.
Drug addiction is not new in the fishing industry. There is a tragic and long-understood pattern of fishermen using opiates or amphetamines to manage the chronic pain and endless hours that come with hard labor deep at sea. But the introduction of fentanyl has altered this pattern. In recent years, both fishermen and addiction counselors in the area say drug use has actually tended to be less pervasive on the waterfront than at any other point in the last few decades. Captains say they are more strict about enforcing a “zero tolerance” policy on their vessels, due to the high risk of fentanyl overdoses leading to death. Many keep Narcan, the opioid-overdose antidote, stocked on their boats and are aware of the outreach programs available to fishermen. But fentanyl has raised the stakes for fishermen continuing to struggle with addiction. >>click to read<< 15:59
New England Fishing Culture
In New Bedford, fishing is more than a business—it is a way of life, passed down through generations of families like a tradition instead of an occupation. Born into a family of fishermen, Tyler Miranda grew up on the water, going out on trips in his father’s lobster boat—a wooden vessel about 14 feet long and half-covered in ocean-worn lobster traps—since he was six. Kellen O’Maley, a fisherman from Gloucester, Mass., chose not to pursue opportunities using a business degree. (Gloucester, a town two hours north of New Bedford, is the second largest fishing port in the state.) Instead, he dove into the fishing industry. >click to read< 10:19
Atlantic sea scallops at lowest biomass in over 20 years and what that means for New Bedford
A Scallop Survey Report presented at the NEFMC meeting Tuesday showed the Atlantic Sea scallop fishery is facing its lowest biomass in over 20 years. Throughout the NEFMC jurisdiction, the survey estimated a biomass decrease of almost 30%. The Georges Bank region saw the largest drop, around 36%. Tyler Miranda, a scalloper Captain and owner who came to prominence during the recent scallop license allocation debate, said that though it is of concern, the announcement does not worry him too much. “Obviously I worry, but what I’ve come to realize about the scallop industry is it fluctuates year to year,” Justin Mello said he felt similarly. “I’m only gonna go into the areas they allow us to, that’s why they call it fishing and not catching.” >click to read< 14:20
Fishing regulators shoot down scallop leasing plan
In a ballroom overlooking Gloucester Harbor, the council regulating New England’s fisheries rejected a controversial proposal on Tuesday to develop a leasing program in the region’s lucrative scallop fishery after failing to agree on the presented motions. The New England Fishery Management Council deliberated on three motions for more than two hours, with all three failing. The latest leasing push comes 12 years after a proposal to allow it was defeated in a close 9-to-7 council vote, with one member abstaining. New Bedford fishermen and permit owners were at the hotel hours before the council took up the leasing issue. The opposition has been largely centralized in the city, driven by the crew and some vessel owners who fear leasing is the first step toward further consolidation. Photos, >click to read< 07:40
‘I don’t want to be a Wal-Mart fisherman’: Scallopers sound off about permit leasing/consolidation
The New England Fisheries Management Council held a scoping meeting Wednesday at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on its proposed Scallop Fishery Management Plan adjustment. Should it go through, the plan would allow scallopers to lease out portions of their days at sea license to other boats, causing concern among small fisherfolk and portside business-owners alike. “I was born a fisherman’s daughter and became a fisherman’s wife,” said Evelyn Sklar at the meeting. “And now I’m a fisherman’s mother and a fisherman’s grandmother. “I hope I can die in peace, because this doesn’t belong in the fishing family industry.” “When consolidation happened [in the groundfish fleet], the community dried up around it,” “As consolidation happened with draggers, they were forced out of business,” said Justin Mello, captain of the Temptress. “I can see the same thing happening. >click to read< 08:12
New Bedford Scallopers tell fishery managers they don’t want leasing
More than 110 attendees, a mix of fishermen, shoreside business owners, marine scientists, attorneys and vessel owners, filled a meeting room at the Whaling Museum on Wednesday for the first of two public meetings in New Bedford on the leasing proposal. Those who spoke in opposition drew loud applause, while those who spoke in support drew little or none. “There was a time in this industry when a father owned a boat and he taught his son, and his son was able to rise up … buy and operate his own boat, and you know, those days are gone,” said Tyler Miranda, a New Bedford captain of two scallopers. “I think that if [leasing] does move forward and is developed, it will take even further away from the family and community dynamic that fishing is and always was — and will make it more corporate.” >click to read< 13:50
