Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Virtual Fisherpoets Round Robin from New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center

March 30, 2021 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will host a virtual event, Women in the Workplace, Women on Deck: A Fisherpoets Round Robin, on Thursday, April 8th at 7:00pm. This event will be live-streamed to the Center’s Facebook page. These fisherpoets will share stories, poems, and music related to their experiences in the fishing industry and community. This event will be led by Moe Bowstern and will feature Tele Aadsen, Meezie Hermansen, Alana Kansaku-Sarmiento, Meghan Gervais, Billie Delaney, and Melanie Brown plus others to be announced. For more details on this event including performer bios, please visit the Center’s online calendar at fishingheritagecenter.org/programs/calendar.

This event takes place on the Fishing Heritage Center’s Facebook page as a Facebook Live event. Watch by visiting the Center’s Facebook page at 7:00pm EDT on Thursday, March 8th, facebook.com/NBFishingHeritageCenter.

Women in the Workplace, Women on Deck: A Fisherpoets Round Robin is supported by a Bridge Street Scholarship from Mass Humanities. This program is part of Women’s Work, the Center’s series about women’s roles in commercial fishing which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Women’s Fisheries Network, Mass Cultural Council, and the New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Westport, and Mattapoisett Cultural Councils.

The program takes place on April’s AHA! Night and is free and open to the public.

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: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center Launches “Women’s Work” Project

February 26, 2021 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center launches its new project, Women’s Work: At Sea, On Shore, At Home, In the Community, this March with two public programs. This project will shine a light on the many roles women play in commercial fishing communities.

On Thursday, March 11th at 7:00pm the Center will host a virtual concert and presentation, Women and the Sea by musician Debra Cowan. This program offers an engaging and informative look at the often overlooked and varied roles and experiences of women and the sea through the lens of Maritime songs and ballads. Debra emphasizes that women can overcome adversity and in some of these songs and stories, take charge and win the day. The program will be live-streamed on the Center’s Facebook page, facebook.com/NBFishingHeritageCenter. This program is free and open to the public.

On Friday, March 19th, the Center’s Virtual Dock-u-mentaries series continues with a screening of the film, Women in the Fishing Industry in Point Judith by filmmaker Markham Starr. As with other traditional industries throughout the country, tightening labor markets and a dwindling supply of men willing to commit to heavy work has created opportunities for women. This film follows a handful of women now working in the industry through a typical day on deck or on the factory floor. This film is part of a larger series documenting the commercial fishery in Point Judith for the Library of Congress. Filmmaker Markham Starr will speak about the film and answer any audience questions. Join the ZOOM Meeting at bit.ly/March2021Dock. Dock-u-mentaries are presented by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. The program is free and open to the public.

Learn more about these programs on the Center’s online calendar, fishingheritagecenter.org/programs/calendar.

Women’s Work: At Sea, On Shore, At Home, In the Community is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Women’s Fisheries Network, the Mass Cultural Council, and the Westport and Mattapoisett Cultural Councils.

Women’s Work will use the arts of photography, film, music, poetry, and storytelling to highlight the often-untold stories of women in commercial fishing communities. From March through December 2021, public programs and an exhibit will engage visitors in exploring the lives, skills, and experiences of women who work in the fishing industry as well as those who are connected through family. The Center will partner with Our Sisters School, Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School, Global Learning Charter Public High School, and the YWCA to engage young people in this project.

Please contact programs@fishingheritagecenter.org with any questions.

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center to Highlight Women’s Work

February 8, 2021 — Women have always played a big role in the world of commercial fishing, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts will help the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center highlight their work at sea and on shore.

Women’s Work: At Sea, On Shore, At Home, In the Community will use photography, film, music, poetry, and storytelling to highlight the often-untold stories of women in commercial fishing communities.

The $15,000 NEA grant, which requires a local match, is among 1,073 grants awarded to local arts projects across the country, representing nearly $25 million in federal funding.

From March through December 2021 in New Bedford, gallery exhibits and programs will explore the lives, skills, and experiences of women who work in the fishing industry, as well as the work of those who are connected through family.

Read the full story at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center Receives NEA Grant

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

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center has been approved for a $15,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts to support Women’s Work: At Sea, On Shore, At Home, In the Community. This project will shine a light on the many roles women play in commercial fishing communities. New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center’s project is among 1,073 projects across America totaling nearly $25 million that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects funding category.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center,” said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is among the arts organizations across the country that have demonstrated creativity, excellence, and resilience during this very challenging year.”

“We are particularly excited to devote our gallery and much of this year’s programming to depictions of the full range of contributions that women make to the industry, thus dispelling the common misperception that the commercial fishing industry is exclusively a man’s world,” says Laura Orleans, Executive Director of New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.

Women’s Work will use the arts of photography, film, music, poetry, and storytelling to highlight the often-untold stories of women in commercial fishing communities. From March through December 2021, an exhibit and public programs will engage visitors in exploring the lives, skills, and experiences of women who work in the fishing industry as well as those who are connected through family. The Center will partner with Our Sisters School, Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School, Global Learning Charter Public High School, and the YWCA to engage young people in this project.

This grant requires the Fishing Heritage Center to raise a match. We invite local businesses that may wish to sponsor this project to help us raise the match to contact info@fishingheritagecenter.org.

For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

MASSACHUSETTS: January at New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center

January 4, 2021 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

While 2020 has been an unexpectedly challenging year, the Fishing Heritage Center is excitedly looking ahead to 2021. This coming June will mark the Center’s five year anniversary! Over these past five years, we have 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. We look forward to celebrating these past five years with our community this coming summer.

This year the Center will open its new, permanent exhibit, More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry. This exhibit will feature a replica working deck, scallop dredge, galley table, bunks, historic images and footage, and more than sixty audio clips sharing the many voices of the fishing community. The new exhibit 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.

In order to install this new exhibit, the Fishing Heritage Center will be closed to the public in January and February 2021. If you’re interested in scheduling a private visit during these months, please email info@fishingheritagecenter.org. While we are closed to visitors, we will continue offering virtual programs and events. See our online calendar for a regularly updated list of virtual programs. Additionally, you can explore our online digital exhibits by clicking here. We can’t wait to welcome you back in the spring to explore our new, permanent exhibit!

In addition to our new exhibit, many of our programs for this coming year will focus on the various roles women play in the fishing industry. Stay up to date with our online calendar as we announce upcoming lectures, concerts, and documentaries that center the voices of women. You can view our online calendar by clicking here.

If you have any questions about the Center’s closure, upcoming programs, or exhibits, please contact Hannah at programs@fishingheritagecenter.org.

UMass Dartmouth and Farm to Institution New England Host Virtual Sea Summit

December 3, 2020 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

How can New England institutions better leverage their influence to support local seafood and seafood producers? With the nation’s top dollar fishing port in New Bedford, why do we not see more local fish on the menu at colleges and other institutions? Can our institutional supply chains take advantage of underutilized species to help address these issues?

UMass Dartmouth and Farm to Institution New England welcome you to attend an online Sea Summit focused on these questions. Join us for an engaging panel and stakeholder dialogue, where speakers will share how a team of colleges and supply chain partners tackled these issues through a 2018 New England Food Vision Prize from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. Learn more about the challenges and opportunities of producing and sourcing farmed kelp and underutilized fish species in New England. Speakers will also share how they worked to bring underutilized species into community and university dining programs, even with the added challenges presented by a global pandemic.

The goal of the Sea Summit is to educate and unite anyone who is interested in: local and sustainable purchasing, procurement, food service operations, supply chains, and sustainable seafood. This event will highlight the importance of local food initiatives, and encourage restaurants, hospitals, schools, colleges, and universities to help our region produce at least 50% of our food by 2060.

About the New England Food Vision Prize

The New England Food Vision Prize was designed by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation to accelerate progress towards the New England Food Vision, a bold vision that calls for our region to produce at least 50% of our food by 2060, while supporting healthy food for all, sustainable farming and fishing, and thriving communities.

Registration details coming soon.

Questions? Contact Kirby Roberts, kroberts1@umassd.edu.

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘At Anchor: A Stay-at-Home Soirée’ to raise funds for NB Fishing Center

September 21, 2020 — New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is excited to present “At Anchor: A Stay-at-Home Soirée.” In light of the ongoing pandemic, the center will forgo its annual in-person fundraiser this year. Instead, the center will host an online auction from Oct. 1 through Oct. 10 and will celebrate the “Bounty of the SouthCoast” with a coupon and recipe book offering discounts to local restaurants and seafood markets and recipes from area chefs and fishing families.

This year’s fundraiser begins with the auction kickoff event at the Fishing Heritage Center on Thursday, Oct. 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. Browse auction items in the center’s parking lot and enjoy live music from The Hot Club Cheese Roll. Masks will be required for entry to the parking lot and social distancing will be practiced throughout the space.

The auction will run on the center’s website from Oct. 1 through 10.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: NB Fishing Heritage Center to Reopen July 9

July 6, 2020 — Phase 3 of Governor Baker’s reopening plan begins on Monday, July 6. Museums and galleries are among those attractions planning to reopen this week. Among them is the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center at 38 Bethel Street in the Historic District.

Hannah Mooney, the Center’s Exhibits, Programs and Engagement Specialist, spoke with Townsquare Sunday host Jim Phillips about the July 9 reopening, the protocols now in place, and what live and virtual programs are planned for this summer.

Hannah also shared details about future fundraising events and the Center’s work with DATMA that helped bring about the “Vessels” exhibit in Downtown New Bedford. The interview is available here:

Read the full story at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: NB Fishing Heritage Center highlights Portuguese immigration and culture

June 9, 2020 — This June, New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will present a series of digital programs related to Portuguese immigration and culture on New Bedford’s working waterfront. These programs are part of a series based on the Center’s latest exhibit, We Came to Fish, We Came to Work: Stories of Immigration.

The Port of New Bedford has long drawn immigrants from around the world. Despite differences in language and culture, a highly-valued fishing industry developed, drawing on the strengths of immigrants from all over the world including Norway, Cape Verde, Guatemala, Nova Scotia, Vietnam, and Portugal. “We Came to Fish, We Came to Work: Stories of Immigration” explores stories of immigration and cultural heritage on New Bedford’s working waterfront. Over the next 8 months, the center will look at cultural heritage through a variety of programs including film screenings, cooking and craft demos, performances and talks, which will be offered virtually until the center re-opens to the public.

Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m. ”Portuguese Immigration and the Fishing Experience: A Virtual Illustrated Talk,” featuring sociologist Gloria deSa, photojournalist Peter Pereira, and photographer Ron Fortier will be presented. Learn about fishing in Portugal as well as about Portuguese immigration and the Portuguese community in New Bedford today. This event will be live streamed to the center’s Facebook page,facebook.com/NBFishingHeritageCenter.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times