Tag Archives: Shipbuilders
Lifting Up the Patron Saint of Netmakers, Shipbuilders, and Fishermen
The 28th Provincetown Portuguese Festival begins Friday, June 28 with live music and dancing in Portuguese Square on Ryder Street. During the three-day-long celebration, Capt. Kenny Silva will lead a fishing derby on MacMillan Pier, fishermen will tell stories on Ryder Street where there will also be a crafts fair and poetry, and the Knights of Columbus will hold a soup tasting under a tent at the Bas Relief Park behind Provincetown Town Hall. But for at least some people, none of this will compare to the event happening for the 77th time, the Blessing of the Fleet at MacMillan Pier. “Everyone confuses the festival for the blessing,” says Provincetown fisherman Alex Brown. “The festival leads into the blessing, but the blessing is a separate event — it’s always the last Sunday of the month.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:14
An inside look at Seattle’s fishing industry
This unique network of professionals, ranging from shipbuilders to pipe fitters to marine electricians and more helps fuel the local economy and offers a range of career options. When fishing fleets, based at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 91 on the Seattle waterfront in Interbay, return laden with their catch, a single ship might carry fillet blocks, loin blocks, surimi, roe, fish meal and fish oil, says Kelli Goodwin, senior manager, Maritime Operations at the Port of Seattle. These products are separated and loaded into export carriers, on-site freezer cold storage, rail cars (for fish oil) or long-haul trucks for domestic distribution. “The next fish stick or fish fillet sandwich you eat, likely was caught by a vessel that calls Seattle home,” >click to read< 14:05
Harvesting the sea
Working out of six major fishing ports, New Jersey fishermen rank No. 1 in the nation when it comes to landing clams, scallops, squid and Atlantic mackerel. “It supports thousands of jobs.’’ Fishermen are the heart and soul of this industry, risking both life and livelihood to land the fish that feed their families, and millions of Americans. “Commercial fishermen are some of the hardest working people,’’ said Wayne Reichle, president, Lund’s Fisheries in Cape May. “They are paid on what they harvest. If they go out to sea and don’t catch anything, they don’t make anything. They take a lot 
of risk both financially and personally.’’ “In the winter, our guys go anywhere from 75 to 150 miles offshore,’’ said Dave Tauro, manager of Belford Seafood Co-Op in Highlands. “It takes them sometimes 18 hours. Imagine what the fuel cost is. They spend three grand before they leave the dock.’’ photos, >click to read< 13:45
Tax Incentives Could Help North Pacific Fishing Fleet Rebuilders, Otherwise, Gulf Coast Builders May Have A Competitive Edge
The Seattle-based North Pacific fishing fleet is expected to get $1.6 billion in upgrades or rebuilding over the next decade, but in-state ship builders have been capturing only about a third of such business so far, and cheaper Gulf Coast competitors could eat their lunch as the stakes grow. Washington maritime industry leaders say bipartisan HB 1154 could help provide a net big enough for the state to harvest more of that economic growth. “We can’t miss this opportunity,” Keith Whittemore said. “The boats have to be built in the U.S…but they don’t have to be built in Washington.” Whittemore is the executive vice president of business development for Vigor Industrial Shipyards, a shipbuilding and repair company with 12 locations and 2,500 employees in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Read the story here 11:31
