Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: NBFHC Awarded Seafood Marketing Grant from Dept. of Marine Fisheries

April 22, 2022 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center: 

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the Division of Marine Fisheries’ (DMF) Seafood Marketing Program. The program was launched in 2016 to increase awareness and demand for Massachusetts seafood products and to enhance the viability and stabilize the economic environment for the state’s local commercial fishing and seafood industries and communities.

The Center’s project, A School of Fish: Infusing Sustainable Seafood into Culinary Arts Programs & the Public Palate, will support a year-long partnership with the culinary arts programs at Greater New Bedford Regional-Vocational Technical High School and Bristol Community College. Together, the Center and project partners will produce materials and programs to educate the next generation of chefs and the general public about the local seafood industry with a focus on local, underutilized, and abundant seafood species. “We are thrilled to support the seafood industry by helping to build demand for some of the lesser-known seafood species,” says the Center’s Executive Director, Laura Orleans.  In addition to producing curriculum materials and a digital cookbook, the project will support cooking demonstrations, classes, and a Seafood Throwdown.

“Importantly, these projects will educate and steer consumers towards the Commonwealth’s healthy and sustainable seafood, directly benefiting our economy and historic fishing communities.” Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Ron Amidon says: “The Seafood Marketing Grant Program projects provide further support the for the livelihoods of the many families who rely on commercial fishing, processing, and related business.”

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford is a shining sea of possibilities

November 10, 2021 — Stand here on Leonard’s Wharf, near where the Acushnet River empties into Buzzards Bay, and you’re surrounded by boats with colorful hulls and elaborate rigs. They help power the nation’s most lucrative fishing port, hauling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of scallops, fish, and lobsters from the Atlantic Ocean to be sold worldwide.

Next door, behind a rusty chain-link fence, sits a huge old power plant, long unused. The 29-acre site is one of two on New Bedford’s waterfront that is poised to host the assembly of massive wind turbines that would be shipped out and mounted in the Atlantic Ocean, promising much-needed clean energy for the Northeast.

Whether these two industries — one ages old, the other being birthed on the fly — can coexist in New Bedford harbor and out in the ocean will say a lot about the future of one of the most distinctive places in Eastern Massachusetts, a city that has for most of its 234 years drawn a living from the sea.

“The waterfront has always provided an opportunity for people,” said Laura Orleans, executive director of the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, who has spent a quarter-century telling the stories of New Bedford’s maritime history. “There have been a lot of people from many different cultures who have been very successful making a living on our waterfront.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Sea Changes at New Bedford’s Fishing Heritage Center

June 28, 2021 — Five years ago, tourists visiting our historic fishing port would just walk past the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center on Bethel Street without blinking an eye. Executive Director Laura Orleans and her staff were just setting sail to start the center, with the idea of telling the action-packed story of New Bedford’s fishing industry with a year-round facility.

Yet considering how much the non-profit center has grown in these first five years, they knew they were going to need a bigger boat.

On Saturday, June 26, the public is invited to a free fifth anniversary celebration and the grand opening of the new permanent exhibit, More Than A Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Industry.

“‘More than a job’ is a phrase a lot of people in the industry say to describe what they do. Commercial fishing is a culture, a community, a way of life. Our new exhibit speaks to that idea,” Orleans said. “The exhibit explores themes including labor history, immigration, sustainability, and the changing nature of work and community.”

Read the full story at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center Launches New Exhibit

June 2, 2021 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is excited to announce the opening of its new, permanent exhibit, More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry.

The Center will celebrate the grand opening of the new exhibit as well as its 5th Anniversary on Saturday, June 26 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. with a free public event. 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 Congressman Bill Keating, State Representative Tony Cabral, and Brian Boyles, Executive Director of Mass Humanities.

“The nation’s most valuable port has long deserved an institution dedicated to telling its story,” said Executive Director Laura Orleans. “The Fishing Heritage Center fills that void, and our new exhibit offers visitors the sort of immersive experience usually reserved for larger museums,”

More Than a Job provides visitors with an introduction to the New Bedford fishing industry. Visitors can explore the changing nature of work and community through displays that present labor history, immigration, and sustainability. They can also experience a working deck, which includes a scallop dredge, galley table and bunks. Guests can view historic and contemporary images and footage, and listen to more than sixty audio clips sharing the many voices of the fishing community:

“My husband, he didn’t tell me this, but he fell overboard while they were out to sea. They brought up the net, and he was in it. . . Now those kind of things our husbands didn’t tell us, because they didn’t want us to be upset over it.” -Barbara Calnan, fisherman’s wife

This quote is one from among the bounty of audio excerpts presented in More Than a Job, mined from the Center’s extensive collection of audio recordings to create five listening stations and an interactive touch screen.

In 2004, the Working Waterfront Festival began documenting the history and experiences of the fishing community through interviews and facilitated discussions with industry members. When the Fishing Heritage Center opened its doors in 2016, this rich collection became the foundation for the Center’s archive. Since then, the Center has doubled the size of its digital collection, engaging in several significant projects.

Funding for More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial 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.

About New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center
Over the past five years, the Fishing Heritage Center has welcomed thousands of visitors, hosted hundreds of local students, recorded dozens of oral history interviews, created numerous exhibits, and hosted a wide variety of educational programs. See the Center’s website for updates on this event, www.fishingheritagecenter.org.

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. The Center is open Thursday-Sunday, 10:00am-4:00pm. Admission is free through June 30. Beginning July 1, admission is $5; $4 for seniors and students; and free for members and children under 12. 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.

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: ‘More than a job’: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center reopens Thursday with new exhibit

April 15, 2021 — Just a few minutes from the city’s waterfront sits a collection of films, photos, audio recordings and artifacts that tell the story of an industry not often seen firsthand by the general public: the fishing industry.

After closing in December, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center reopens this Thursday with its new exhibit, “More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry.” The center describes it as an “introduction” to New Bedford’s preeminent industry.

“The nation’s most valuable port has long deserved an institution dedicated to telling its story,” said Laura Orleans, executive director of the center. “The Fishing Heritage Center fills that void.”

The exhibit explores the industry in New Bedford beginning in the 1900s by considering sustainability, labor unions, diversity, family, community and the “American dream.” It illustrates what the industry does and represents through the voices and stories of those in it, Orleans said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: A New Exhibit About New Bedford and Fishing

April 12, 2021 — Restrictions are slowly being lifted and more COVID-19 vaccine is becoming available, and the people running the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center are hopeful they’ll be welcoming more visitors this spring and summer to their 38 Bethel Street location.

When those visitors arrive, they can enjoy a new exhibit about New Bedford and its fishing industry.

The Center’s Executive Director, Laura Orleans joins Townsquare Sunday to discuss the new exhibit, entitled “More Than A Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry.”

The exhibit attempts to explain the culture of New Bedford and its connection to one of the world’s most dangerous professions.

Read the full story at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford heritage center to highlight women’s roles in fishing industry

March 10, 2021 — Years before the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center was established, the city’s annual two-day Working Waterfront Festival in 2007 focused on women and their role in the commercial fishing industry.

Laura Orleans, executive director of the center who was involved in the festival planning, said a man on the planning committee had asked if the festival would be all about fishermen’s wives, as that was what he thought about women in the industry.

Women who are married to fishermen serve an important role, but they have many other roles, Orleans said. They own and captain boats, process fish, study fisheries as scientists, make fishing gear, do the bookkeeping, serve as observers for fisheries management and act as some of the strongest advocates for the industry.

This reality will be the focus of the center’s new project, “Women’s Work: At Sea, On Shore, At Home, In the Community.” Programming starts this month and will culminate in a new exhibit on women scheduled to open late this summer.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

MASSACHUSETTS: Story of shoreside New Bedford business finally told locally and in Library of Congress

November 7, 2018 — No place on earth understands the fishing industry like New Bedford. So it’s no surprise the Library of Congress is using the voice of the city to share the history of fishing and its importance in the United States.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center used a fellowship from the Library of Congress to relay specifically the stories of shoreside businesses through the voices and images of those in the industry.

The final product sits on display in the museum. It first opened on Oct. 11. Faces of the fishing industry hang on the walls. An iPad provides a genuine interactive experience where visitors can hear the voices of those whose pictures fill the exhibit. Users can select which individual they want to hear.

The exhibit ends Feb. 4 but will live forever in the Library of Congress as part of its permanent collection.

“They were really excited,” New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center Executive Director Laura Orleans said. “They were really pleased with what we sent to them. I think they’re very excited we already have an exhibit up.”

The exhibit on display consists of 58 interviews conducted over a year and completed last July. Phil Melo, a manager a Bergie’s Seafood, snapped photos for the portraits for the exhibit while also participating as one of the interviewees.

“It’s just not the fishermen. I know people drive through the city. They just see the boats and that’s all they think about,” Melo said. “They don’t realize how many tractor trailers come through the city with fuel for the fishing industry. The groceries that are delivered to the boats, the bookkeeping that’s done. The welding shops. There’s a ton.”

The exhibit features occupations across the waterfront from processors to electric engineers to welders to benefit providers.

In capturing the faces of the interviewees, Melo also tried to capture a portrait that provided a look not only at the industry but the personalities behind it.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center presents Working on the Waterfront

September 25, 2018 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is pleased to announce the opening of its’ latest exhibit Working on the Waterfront. An opening reception will take place on October 11th at 6:30 p.m. during AHA. The exhibit will run through January 2019.

In New Bedford, there are over 5,000 people working in the commercial fishing industry both on and off-shore. Those in shoreside businesses work in a variety of positions such as electronics technicians, fuel barge operators, welders, fish samplers, settlement staff, fish cutters, and fish sellers. From preparing a vessel to go out to sea to processing the product for market, all of these workers are vital to the success of the fishing trip and the industry.

Working on the Waterfront highlights the vital role of these shoreside workers. These men and women understand the importance of doing the best job possible because the quality of their work means a safe, successful trip for the vessel or a better price for the product. They talk with pride about their jobs and how, in spite of challenges, love what they do. The majority of those interviewed work for family owned businesses, creating a unique workplace environment which they value.

These oral history excerpts and photographs are from interviews recorded as part of an Archie Green Fellowship from the Library of Congress awarded to the Center. The project, Workers on the New Bedford Waterfront, produced interviews and photographic portraits of 58 shore-side workers involved in the local commercial fishing industry with a particular emphasis on female workers and Central American workers. In addition to being a part of the Center’s archives, these interviews and photographs are part of the permanent collection of the Library of Congress.The exhibit includes an interactive oral history kiosk which allows visitors to listen to audio excerpts.

Interviews were conducted by: Laura Orleans – Folklorist & Executive Director of the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center; Madeleine Hall-Arber – retired anthropologist, MIT Sea Grant; Corinn Williams – Executive Director of Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts; and Fred Calabretta – Oral historian at Mystic Seaport Museum. Project Photographer was Phil Mello of Big Fish Studio. Support for the project and exhibit was provided by Archie Green Fellowship – Library of Congress and NOAA’s Voices from the Fisheries.

The Center is open Thursday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. Located at 38 Bethel Street in the heart of the National Park, the Center is wheelchair accessible with free off-street parking.

The 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. For more information, please email programs@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.