October 15, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
For 200 days of each of the past 44 years, Tony Borges has been setting out from New Bedford, Massachusetts in search of groundfish, fluke, and squid. That’s roughly 8,800 days for those of you keeping score at home. He started fishing with his father, though Borges says his father tried to dissuade him from being a fisherman. He encouraged Borges to join the U.S. Coast Guard instead.
Nevertheless, in 1977, along with his cousin, aunt, and father, he purchased the brand new FV Sao Paulo. He still owns and operates it today.
For the last seven years, Borges has also been participating in the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Study Fleet. As part of this scientific data collection program, he records haul-by-haul catch (kept and discarded) information for all species.
When I met Borges early one morning on the Sao Paulo, he was down in the engine room covered in grease. He was working on his vessel’s first complete overhaul in 40 years!