Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center 5th Anniversary Celebration This Weekend

June 21, 2021 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

This weekend, we are celebrating the Center’s five-year anniversary and the official grand opening of More than a Job with an event on June 26th from 10am-4pm! The celebration at 38 Bethel Street will include demonstrations of industry skills, kids’ activities, and live music by the Rum Soaked Crooks. A speaking program will begin at noon with remarks delivered by elected officials and a keynote address delivered by Brian Boyles, Executive Director of Mass Humanities. Click here for a full schedule. This event is free and open to the public!

This event will also feature a free vaccine clinic for the COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with Fishing Partnership and Greater New Bedford Community Health Center. Vaccine offered: Johnson & Johnson for adults; Pfizer for kids 12-17. Free $20 Dunkin Donuts cards to first time vaccinators both for child AND adult!

Funding for More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Industry is provided by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and significant support from Bristol County Savings Bank. Major in-kind support for this exhibit was provided by Fairhaven Shipyard and Blue Fleet Welding.

Also on view, We Came to Fish, We Came to Work: Stories of Immigration is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Creative Commonwealth Initiative, and the Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, and New Bedford Cultural Councils.

Contact programs@fishingheritagecenter.org with any questions.

MASSACHUSETTS: More Than a Job: New Bedford’s work and community

April 28, 2021 — As parts of our communities begin to reopen, the fishing industry is a reminder that essential services never stopped running in the year since businesses and even public services in the United States began to shutter their doors.

The crown jewel of Massachusetts’ fishing industry, New Bedford’s history is inexorably tied to its working waterfront. This month, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will reopen to the public with a new exhibit — More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Industry.

“Fishing industry workers often describe what they do as ‘more than a job,’” said Laura Orleans, the center’s executive director. “We are excited to share our new permanent exhibit with the public, giving visitors a chance to hear directly from the fishing community by sharing dozens of audio clips from oral histories conducted over the past two decades. We are grateful to many in the industry for supporting the project and for sharing their stories, skills, time, and knowledge.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center to Reopen and Launch New Exhibit

April 5, 2021 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will reopen to the public and launch its new exhibit, More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Industry, on Thursday, April 15th.

More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Industry will provide visitors with an introduction to the workings of the fishing industry as well as explore themes including labor history, immigration, sustainability, and the changing nature of work and community. This exhibit will feature a replica working deck, scallop dredge, galley table, bunks, historic and contemporary images and footage, and more than sixty audio clips sharing the many voices of the fishing community.

Funding for More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Industry is provided by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and significant support from Bristol County Savings Bank. Major in-kind support for this exhibit was provided by Fairhaven Shipyard and Blue Fleet Welding.

Located in the nation’s most valuable fishing port, New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through exhibits, programs, and archives. Beginning April 15th, the Center is open Thursday-Sunday, 10:00am-4:00pm. Admission is free. To schedule a small group tour of the new exhibit or to learn more about the exhibit, contact
programs@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.