September 6, 2023 — Blue Harvest Fisheries in New Bedford has closed down all its fishing operations.
The New Bedford Light is reporting the shutdown comes after the company spent the last five years selling off assets in an apparent effort to stay afloat.
But Blue Harvest, which was founded in 2015, also acquired assets during that period. In 2020, the company bought 12 vessels and 27 permits from the holdings of Carlos Rafael, the fishing mogul who was convicted of fraud and tax evasion.
Jared Auerbach, the CEO of the seafood distributor Red’s Best says Blue Harvest is huge — owning a quarter of the region’s groundfish fleet. Red’s Best was a customer of Blue Harvest.