“They got a good deal. I’m glad to see that it appears they [the boats and permits] will be staying in New Bedford. That’s a good thing.” — Eric Hansen, New Bedford representative to the New England Fishery Management Council
Category: Fishing industry
Posted inFishing industry
Will bankruptcy auction break up New Bedford’s fishing fleet?
With bankruptcy auction looming, New Bedford wants boats to stay here; others favor breaking up the fleet.
Posted inFishing industry
‘Codfather’ Rafael’s fleet scrapped amid Blue Harvest bankruptcy
“They said it would be no problem to fill my shoes. They filled my shoes, all right. They f—ed people for millions of dollars. That’s how they filled my shoes.” — Carlos Rafael, in a telephone interview with The Light.
Posted inFishing industry
Eastern Fisheries dock collapse injures 2 in New Bedford
“It was very, very sudden. … We’re just lucky there were no fatalities.” — Roy Enoksen, founder of Eastern Fisheries
Posted inFishing industry
Blue Harvest bankruptcy leaves millions in unpaid debt to local businesses
It’s all part of the private equity firm playbook. “They buy a company, they strip it, they declare bankruptcy and they walk away.” As for the small businesses with unpaid invoices? “That money is gone.” — Eileen Appelbaum, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research
Posted inFishing industry
Blue Harvest files for Ch. 7 bankruptcy, company likely to liquidate assets
“I guess we’re not getting paid,” said Randy Martin, a machinist at Harbor Hydraulics, which abuts the Blue Harvest facility on the Fairhaven side of the port. He said Blue Harvest owed “a lot of companies a lot of money.”
Posted inFishing industry
Blue Harvest to shut down, ending reign over New England groundfish
Most fleets on the New Bedford waterfront have been built up over decades, even generations. But with private equity capital injected into the company, Blue Harvest was able to anchor itself amongst the ranks of the largest companies on the East Coast in just under a decade.
Posted inInPerson
SMAST’s Kevin Stokesbury: On scallops, community collaboration, and a lifelong love of the ocean
He grew from a boy in Nova Scotia who knew the ocean like his own backyard into a scholar and community innovator, revitalizing the scallop industry with the invention of the drop camera.
Posted inFishing industry
Women say they were fired from seafood plant after reporting sexual harassment
True North Seafood said the incidents are unrelated. In a statement, the company said: “True North does not believe that harassment is a prevalent issue at its New Bedford facility.”
Posted inImmigration
OSHA signs up to protect New Bedford’s immigrant seafood workers
“OSHA will inform workers that they have the right to speak up about hazards in their workplace without fear of retaliation, regardless of immigration status.” — OSHA administrator Kristen Rubino