SavingSeaFood - Working Waterfront Festival closes with shucking contest, blessing of the fleet

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Working Waterfront Festival closes with shucking contest, blessing of the fleet

NEW BEDFORD — Shane Dolman, a 25-year-old engineer aboard the fishing vessel Westport, shucked 100 scallops in 4 minutes and 2 seconds to win the title, narrowly beating John Hynd from the fishing vessel Wisdom, who had a time of 4 minutes 11 seconds.

But unlike past years, there was no procession of fishing boats that were blessed with holy water as they passed a reviewing stand at State Pier.

Due to a shortage of dock space on the waterfront and the high cost of fuel, the Very Rev. Constantine S. Bebis, leader of St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Dartmouth, blessed the vessels from the sea and from the land.

Bebis, who has presided at each of the 42 annual events and is retiring this year, blessed the fishing vessels from a tugboat in the harbor and a golf cart on the docks.

Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.

MELISSA WOOD, NATIONAL FISHERMEN: Meting out the meager

May 22, 2012 - Listening to the New England Council's Groundfish Advisory Panel talk about how that industry is going to pay for monitoring costs is kind of like trying to figure out how to pay your bills when you've just lost your job. Though monitoring is important keeping costs down is critical. As Panel Member Gary Libby pointed out, "If we had 100 percent monitoring we probably wouldn't have an industry."

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