Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: 2020 Exhibits and Programs at New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center

January 2, 2020 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

In 2020, New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will launch “We Came to Fish, We Came to Work,” a series of exhibits and programs exploring the rich cultural heritage of New Bedford’s fishing industry. 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 the Azores, Cape Verde, El Salvador, Guatemala, Newfoundland, Norway, Nova Scotia, and Portugal. Cultural traditions of these various immigrant groups including needlework, ceramics, holiday practices, music, and recipes are still practiced today. Through two temporary exhibits, cooking and craft demonstrations, performances, film screenings, and panel discussions, the Center will consider why people chose to leave their homeland, what fishing was like in the old country, what brings people to New Bedford, and in what ways their cultural heritage has endured.

These exhibits and programs are funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Creative Commonwealth Initiative, and Dartmouth and New Bedford Cultural Council grants.

The first related programs will be “Stories of Immigration Scanning Days” on January 11th and February 8th from 10:00am- 12:00pm. Community members are encouraged to bring in any photographs, documents, or objects related to their own stories of immigration or enduring cultural heritage traditions.These items will be scanned and documented by Fishing Heritage Center staff and volunteers. Such items help the Center tell a more complete story of immigration and cultural heritage in New Bedford’s working waterfront.

Music is an integral part of a community’s cultural heritage, and the Fishing Heritage Center will host several concerts throughout the year that reflect these traditions. On Saturday, February 8th at 7:00pm, Golden Lane, a traditional Irish dance music group, will perform at the Fishing Heritage Center. Tickets are $10/ members, $12/ general public. On Wednesday, March 11th at 7:00pm, Matthew Byrne, a traditional singer, storyteller, and guitarist from Newfoundland, will perform at the Center. Tickets are $12/ members, $15/ general public. Tickets for both concerts are available at Brown Paper Ticket links accessible through the Center’s website calendar, by calling the Center at 508-993-8894, or at the Center’s gift shop.

For more information on these upcoming exhibits or programs, email programs@fishingheritagecenter.org.

MASSACHUSETTS: Scallops and Beer Fundraiser

December 13, 2019 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is partnering with Moby Dick Brewing Co. for a Scallops and Beer Fundraiser on Thursday, December 19th. Enjoy a variety of scallop specials and suggested beer pairings at Moby Dick Brewing Co. (16 S. Water Street) from 4:00pm to close. 15% of the sales from these scallop specials will go towards the Fishing Heritage Center.

This event was inspired by the discovery of an archival image (below) that is captioned, “Dawson’s Brewery of New Bedford, Mass unites with the fishermen’s Union to promote sea scallops across the land using the phrase, “Beer and New Bedford Sea Scallops are made for each other.” Dawson’s Brewery opened in 1889 and remained a local institution in New Bedford through the mid- 1970s.

Stop by Moby Dick Brewing Co. on December 19th to see why beer and sea scallops were made for each other and to support the Fishing Heritage Center.

MASSACHUSETTS: F/V Innovation: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center launches new exhibit and program series

September 12, 2019 — F/V Innovation, a new exhibit exploring the evolution of vessels and gear and paying tribute to some of the individuals whose innovations propelled the industry into the modern era, will open on the Sept. 12 AHA! Night.

The exhibit will be on display in the Center’s gallery through March of 2020.

The City of New Bedford has a long history of maritime innovators. Perhaps most notable is blacksmith Lewis Temple, who developed the Toggle Iron in 1848, a harpoon that revolutionized the whaling industry.

In the years since, there have been many who have made their mark on the working waterfront including some who hold patents for their inventions.

F/V Innovation will feature Dan Mullins, known as the father of the modern fishing industry, Hathaway Machine Co., which produced essential fishing gear including the Hathaway winch, and the F/V Narragansett, America’s first stern trawler, as well as others whose contributions helped to make fishing safer, easier, more profitable, and more sustainable.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford’s fishing faces take their place in Library of Congress

July 3, 2019 — The American Folklife Center (AFC) is excited to be featuring “Working on the Waterfront,” a documentary display of photographs created by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center in New Bedford.

The display, which is located in Room LJ-G53 on the ground floor of the Library of Congress’s Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C., is open to the public through October.

In 2016, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center received a prestigious Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center to document workers on the New Bedford waterfront for AFC’s Occupational Folklife Project (OFP).

The OFP is an ongoing research initiative to record the lives, careers, and experiences of contemporary workers in a wide range of trades and occupations throughout the United States.

Under the direction of NBFHC Executive Director Laura Orleans, funds from the competitive fellowship were used to hire researchers to record oral histories and photograph almost 60 workers involved in diverse fishing-related trades and occupations on the New Bedford waterfront.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Seafood Soiree to Benefit Fishing Heritage Center

June 26, 2019 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

Enticing seafood appetizers from some of the area’s finest chefs are on the menu for a Seafood Soirée, the second annual gala fundraiser to benefit the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.

Scheduled for the evening of July 18th at the Wamsutta Club at the James Arnold Mansion, a Seafood Soirée will feature the bounty of the sea with over a dozen dishes prepared by area chefs, as well as handmade desserts; live gypsy jazz by Hot Club Cheese Roll; and live and chance auctions.

“We invite the community to join us for this fun and delectable evening, a showcase of seafood from the nation’s most valuable fishing port,” said Executive Director Laura Orleans. “We are grateful to all our chefs, restaurants, seafood companies, and sponsors for their role in helping us promote the local seafood industry.”

Finest Kind lead sponsors for the Soirée include Farm Credit East, Fleet Fisheries and the Wamsutta Club at the James Arnold Mansion.

Highliner Sponsors include BayCoast Bank; Commercial Fisheries News; Edie and Marie Boat Settlements; Hancock Marine, Inc.; SouthCoast Media Group; and The Town Dock.

Skipper Sponsors include Moses Smith, Markey & Walsh and Seafuels Marine.

The cocktail hour from 5:30 to 6:30 pm will feature sushi from Turk’s Seafoodand mini lobster rolls by Oxford Creamery, both in Mattapoisett.

From 6:00 to 7:30 pm, signature seafood dishes will be offered by the following chefs (committed to date):

  • Clam Chowder donated by Blount Fine Foods;
  • Lobster sausage with chourico aioli prepared by Chef Chris Cronin of Union Flats opening soon on Union Street in New Bedford;
  • Korean barbeque Mackerel with charred bok choy and sweet chili glaze created by Chef Chris Cordeiro, Corporate Chef for Sid Wainer & Son;
  • Squid dish created by Chef Arthur Dill from Chartwells Dining Service at UMass Dartmouth;
  • Scallops with mustard and endive garnish, as well as scallop and codfish casserole created by Eastern Fisheries Executive Chef, George Karousos;
  • Smoked bluefish pate with pickled red onion and homemade crackers prepared by Chef Lisa Lofberg of Little Moss in Padanaram;
  • A Skate dish created by Chef Mike Melo of M&C Café;
  • New Bedford Seafood Paella featuring clams, scallops, mussels & chorizo by Chef Greg Morton of Morton’s Fork Catering;
  • Mini fish and chips prepared by Chef Jayme Reno of Merrill’s on the Waterfront in New Bedford;
  • For non-seafood eaters, Wamsutta Club Executive Chef Raymond Fonseca will offer assorted petite quiche, spanakopita, bruschetta, and chicken allouette.

Dessert from 7:30 to 8:30 pm will feature handcrafted chocolates by Life is Sweet and home baked cookies by Jo’s Breads & Muffins, along with coffee and tea.

Beginning at 7:30 pm, a live auction will feature items ranging from Red Sox HP State Street Pavillion Club seating tickets to a scallop dinner for four in the galley of a working fishing vessel. Throughout the evening, guests will enjoy gypsy jazz by Hot Club Cheese Roll, and try their luck at a Fluke and Flounder chance auction. A complimentary glass of champagne and a cash bar will round out the evening.

Tickets are $75 per person; proceeds will benefit the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, the city’s newest museum. For tickets, visit the Center at 38 Bethel Street, call 508-993-8894, or email info@fishingheritagecenter.org. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://fishingheritagecenter.org/soiree/

MASSACHUSETTS: Voices in the Fog: Story of Portuguese cod fishermen

June 6, 2019 — The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, in partnership with the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, presents Voices in the Fog: New Bedford Chapter (2016) as the Dock-U-Mentaries Film Series continues on June 21 at 7 p.m.

Voices in the Fog is based on interviews of former Portuguese cod fisherman, who share memories, stories, and anecdotes of life in the high seas. The “New Bedford Chapter” introduces subjects who immigrated to the United States to build their lives and continue their careers on American soil. The film is in Portuguese with English subtitles.

The film was directed by Pedro Marnoto, with cinematography by Hugo Marques, and Pedro Marnoto. Production was by PAPS (Portuguese American Post-Graduate Society), Arte Institute.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘Lobster War’ hitting Whaling Museum theater

May 22, 2019 — The New Bedford Whaling Museum, in partnership with the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, is screening a documentary with claws.

“Lobster War” is an award-winning feature-length documentary film about a conflict between the United States and Canada over waters that both countries have claimed since the end of the Revolutionary War.

The disputed 277 square miles of sea known as the Gray Zone were traditionally fished by U.S. lobstermen.

But as the Gulf of Maine has warmed faster than nearly any other body of water on the planet, the area’s previously modest lobster population has surged. As a result, Canadians have begun to assert their sovereignty, warring with the Americans to claim the bounty.

“Lobster War – The Fight Over the World’s Richest Fishing Grounds” is directed by David Abel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at The Boston Globe, and Andy Laub, an award-winning documentarian, producers of the acclaimed Discovery channel documentary “Sacred Cod.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Exhibit captures the faces of area commercial fishermen

February 14, 2019 — The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center has announced the opening of Commercial Fishermen of New England, a series of charcoal portraits by award winning artist Suzanne Starr.

An opening reception will take place on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. during AHA! Night. The exhibit will run through April 7.

Starr’s drawings depict commercial fishermen working local waters today.

“Whether chasing ground fish, squid, lobsters or scallops, most continue the work of their fathers and grandfathers,” a press release about the exhibit states. “As a series, these images offer a richer portrait of the fishing community than any individual portrait might.”

Suzanne’s husband, Markham Starr is a documentary photographer whose goal has been to preserve something of the working cultures of New England, now rapidly disappearing. On Friday, he will screen his film “Point Jude: Portraits of a Fishing Port” as part of the Dock-u-mentaries series, a co-production of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center. The screening will take place at the National Park Theater (33 William Street).

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Digitizing New Bedford’s fishing memories

February 11, 2019 — Bob Demanche taps the nifty round mini light on the table in front of him and grabs a magnifier. He opens the box that is also on the table and takes out one of the hundreds of slides it contains and looks at each of them…one by one. There are three more similar boxes to go through.

Welcome to Scanning Day at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center. Volunteers at the center set aside the second Saturday of each month to scan photos, documents, letters, slides and more from the general public that are relative to the city’s commercial fishing industry.

“We have a team of four volunteers who help on scanning days,” said Sarah Bowen, operations manager. It’s all pretty streamlined: one volunteer scans the items while another speaks with the person who brought them in, gathering information about the photo or document. The owner is then given a digitized version of the items, along with their originals.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center receives $6K grant

December 20, 2018 — Mass Humanities awarded grants totaling $134,649 in support of humanities projects in communities across the state, including New Bedford.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center received $6,960 to explore how changes in technology have affected the city’s fishing community over time. The grant will go toward archival research and ethnographic interviews with members of the fishing community, exhibits, discussions, and curricula for elementary and secondary school children.

“We were impressed by the range of relevant, dynamic projects in this round of applications,” said Brian Boyles, Mass Humanities executive director, in a statement. “Organizations around Massachusetts are responding to their communities through new approaches to the humanities. They’re asking big questions, reaching new audiences, and shedding new light on our shared history and culture.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times