Groundfish operations change focus for local seafood company

Kathryn Gallerani, Standard-Times
Updated ·3 min read

NEW BEDFORD — While a local supplier of seafood continues its efforts to focus exclusively on groundfish and upgrade and modernize its fleet, it has announced the temporary closure of the processing facility it operates in New Bedford, resulting in layoffs to 64 employees.

Blue Harvest Fisheries will be upgrading and modernizing its fleet as part of a shift in strategy to realize the potential of its groundfish operations and continue focusing exclusively on groundfish.

Boats are docked in front of the Blue Harvest Fisheries plant on Herman Melville Boulevard in New Bedford.
Boats are docked in front of the Blue Harvest Fisheries plant on Herman Melville Boulevard in New Bedford.

While originally focused on acquiring assets in the scallop fishery, Blue Harvest Fisheries President Chip Wilson said management became aware of a unique situation in the ground fishing industry, an industry that has been depressed in New England since the late 1980s.

“Thanks to some really good fisheries management practices, and unbeknownst to the population at large, the fishery has come back in a strong way,” Wilson said in a video announcing the change in plans.  “We’re leaving something like 85 to 90% of the quota of these species every year in the water.”

Governments regulate fishing using fishing quotas establishing the number of fish that can be caught over a given time.

Blue Harvest Fisheries recently acquired the newest groundfish vessel currently operating in regional waters, the state-of-the-art F/V Francis Dawn renamed the F/V Nobska.
Blue Harvest Fisheries recently acquired the newest groundfish vessel currently operating in regional waters, the state-of-the-art F/V Francis Dawn renamed the F/V Nobska.

Wilson said there are three main species – haddock, red fish and Atlantic pollock – where Blue Harvest Fisheries holds most of its quota. To increase utilization of those fisheries, he said they are focused on investing in a modern groundfish fleet.

Why its processing plant

The company operates its own fleet of groundfish vessels as well as offload facilities in New Bedford and Fairhaven and a waterfront manufacturing facility in New Bedford.

The Blue Harvest Fleet & Marine Services location in Fairhaven.
The Blue Harvest Fleet & Marine Services location in Fairhaven.

The company is working with the MassHire Greater New Bedford Workforce Board and the MassHire Greater New Bedford Career Center in the deployment of the Commonwealth’s rapid response team to provide career center services to assist the staff members who will be affected by the shift.

Blue Harvest will temporarily suspend operations at its processing plant in New Bedford. However, the company has kept the door open to resuming processing operations in the “not-too-distant future.”

The Blue Harvest Fisheries strategy

In 2020, Blue Harvest purchased 12 vessels and 27 fishing permits from the Carlos Rafael family, allowing Blue Harvest to expand its activity in the groundfish industry and keep the Rafael family fishing vessels and permits in the Port of New Bedford, retaining local fishing jobs and preserving the port’s long-standing ties to the groundfish fishery.

Their initial strategy was to maintain and improve those vessels, keeping them in operation to fish the acquired permits. However, after two years of operating these vessels, including making significant investments in needed upgrades and repairs, it became clear that a more modern fleet was necessary looking to the future.

Blue Harvest will continue to fish these groundfish permits and maintain its existing active vessels but will focus on the construction and acquisition of modern, up-to-date fishing vessels utilizing new technology that will greatly reduce the carbon footprint and avoid species that are under duress.

The new vessels are also expected to provide safer working conditions and more comfortable living conditions for captains and crewmembers.

Its recent acquisition, the state-of-the-art F/V Francis Dawn, renamed the F/V Nobska, the newest groundfish vessel currently operating in regional waters, will resume fishing operations when the necessary permits are secured.

The company began to implement its new strategy in 2022 with the disposition of the company’s scallop assets to focus exclusively on groundfish.

They are also working with a local shipyard, developing plans to build two more vessels based on the Nobska design.

Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kgallreporter. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford company plans fleet upgrades while focusing on groundfish