Saving Seafood

C&P Trawlers to buy Blue Harvest vessels, permits for $12 million

November 9, 2023 — A judge Wednesday approved a new venture’s $12 million offer to buy eight vessels and 48 federal and state fishing permits from bankrupt Blue Harvest Fisheries.

C&P Trawlers, a Massachusetts limited liability corporation by Cassie Canastra of New Bedford, Mass. and Charles “Butch” Payne of Montauk, N.Y., won approval of the deal from federal District Court Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein who is overseeing Blue Harvests’ Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware, according to a statement from C&P Trawlers.

Canastra, now manager of C&P Trawlers, has been director of operations at the Whaling City auction Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE) which her family has operated for 29 years. Payne owns vessels based in Montauk that fish for New England species including squid and whiting.

Blue Harvest’s sudden declaration of bankruptcy shook the groundfish industry and New Bedford, where Blue Harvest had acquired many local vessels and promised a revitalization of the groundfish business. Local business and political leaders have long feared a loss of vessels and permits from the port.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

C&P Trawlers statement on acquisition of Blue Harvest vessels and permits

November 9, 2023 — The following statement was released by C&P Trawlers:

C&P Trawlers LLC is a Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) formed by Ms. Cassie Canastra and Mr. Charles “Butch” Payne, and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Earlier today, Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein, the federal judge in Delaware who is overseeing Blue Harvest Fisheries’ Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, approved a $12 million offer by C&P Trawlers for Blue Harvest’s eight vessels and 48 federal and state fishing permits.

“As is well known, I grew up in a fishing family, and started attending the daily auctions when I was six years old. To be able to return to New Bedford after college and join my family in the seafood industry was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. It was an honor last January, after nine years, to assume the role as leader of all of our seafood corporations on day-to-day basis,” said Cassie Canastra, manager of C&P Trawlers.

“As the manager of C&P Trawlers, I was delighted to learn that C&P submitted the winning bid in the auction to acquire the vessels and permits previously owned by Blue Harvest Fisheries,” she said. “Butch and I look forward to operating those vessels from the Port of New Bedford.”

Members of Ms. Canastra’s family who are participants in other Canastra family businesses are not involved with C&P Trawlers.

Charles “Butch” Payne is a vessel owner from Montauk, New York whose boats fish for southern New England species including squid and whiting. He looks forward to expanding his existing vessel operations from the Port of New Bedford.

Cassie Canastra is the leader of a number of her family’s seafood businesses, including the 29-year-old Whaling City auction, Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE). She was named 2018 South Coast Woman of the Year by the New Bedford Standard-Times for her dedication to the region’s fishing industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of the Holy Cross, and a Professional Science Master’s (PSM) from the UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST).

C&P Trawlers submits highest bid for Blue Harvest’s fishing vessels

November 8, 2023 — New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based C&P Trawlers has won the bankruptcy auction for Blue Harvest’s fishing vessels, officially bringing Blue Harvest’s bid to be a dominating force in the region’s groundfish industry to a close.

According to a court transcript, C&P Trawlers, represented by Cassie Canastra – who according to LinkedIn also serves as the director of operations for New Bedford’s Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE) auction house – submitted the winning bid of USD 12 million (EUR 11.2 million) for the vessels. C&P Trawlers, a company incorporated on 26 October 2023, beat out multiple other bidders for the property, with the O’Hara Corporation submitting the second-place bid of USD 11.25 million (EUR 10.5 million).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource