Tag Archives: third generation fisherman

70 years and counting: Stonington Blessing of the Fleet returns this weekend

Born in the Azores, an island in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal, Manuel Raymond Rezendes’ grandfather and father came to the U.S. more than a century ago. Members of his family have worked in the fishing industry ever since. A third-generation fisherman, Rezendes said it is difficult to attract younger workers. It is a taxing career with early mornings and long trips, hard labor and extreme danger at times. He’s been struck in the chest with ropes, knocked overboard and has lived to tell the tale. Others, including his grandfather, Manuel “Fayal” Perry Rezendes, have not been so fortunate. “Fishing has been part of our family since as long as I can remember, and it is important to honor the traditions and sacrifices that came with that,” said Rezendes, who will serve as the grand marshal for the 70th annual Blessing of the Fleet this weekend. >click to read< 17:20

Where to, struggling small-scale fishers? – “Fishing communities are in crisis”

Ousted from their homes in District 6 during the apartheid era, many of South Africa’s fishing families were re-located to places like Saldanha, Gansbaai and Kalk Bay to continue their craft. One such family were the Fortunes, now headed by Ishmael Fortune, a third generation fisherman,,, Up until 1994, quota systems regulated who got what, with expensive resources set as a condition on which allocation rights would be distributed. On September 1, 1998, the Marine Living Resources Act came into operation. Although having the right intentions, several contestable issues were highlighted, like a “balance between the rights of the individual rights-holder and those of the State.” >click to read< 12:27