Tag Archives: New Bedford fishing industry
Investigation reveals private equity firms dominate the New Bedford fishing industry
A debate is raging in the local scallop industry about whether fishermen should be allowed to lease their permits. Supporters say the proposal could help fishermen with a small catch share, or those who can’t get out to sea, stay in the business, because they could lease their permit to another captain. Opponents worry it would allow big companies to consolidate the industry and push small fishermen out, similar to what has happened in the groundfishing industry. CAI’s Kathryn Eident talked with Will Sennott, a reporter with the New Bedford Light, about his investigation into permit leasing in the groundfishing industry, and how he found that some of the biggest winners are multinational private equity firms, not small fishermen. >click to read< 16:21
Five Years After His Indictment, Carlos Rafael’s Fishing Vessels Are Part of a New Era in New Bedford
It’s been a little more than a year since this vessel was among the last big group of fishing boats sold off from the fleet of Carlos Rafael, the man known in the New Bedford fishing industry as “the Codfather.” Rafael went to prison in 2017 for dodging catch limits, smuggling profits overseas, and evading taxes. Some of his former vessels have become part of a new era on the New Bedford waterfront that started before he was indicted but has accelerated in the five years since, Blue Harvest Fisheries bought 12 of Rafael’s groundfish boats, including the Glaucus, last year. >click to read< 09:01
Sept. 27-29 Working Waterfront Festival opens doors to New Bedford fishing industry – event offers ‘window into the world’ of commercial fishing
NEW BEDFORD — In two weeks, the harbor will swarm with locals and tourists alike hoping to learn more about the fishing industry. They will see life rafts inflated in an instant, watch scallopers shucking and touch whole, live monkfish for the first time with their bare hands. The Working Waterfront Festival is expected to be a weekend of fun for the whole family, but local fishermen say it is also their annual opportunity to show non-fishermen what they’re made of. more@southcoasttoday 03:10
