New Bedford Working Waterfront Festival Hits High Mark
by Mike Crowe
Heavy metal. There were lots of boats tied up during the festival. Not for the festival, but coincidentally. A few were open for visitor tours with crew or captains to answer questions. Fishermen’s Voice photo
On two days at the end of September, the United States’ “largest” fishing port celebrated the world’s oldest profession. Since humans first lived in groups, they have known that when food could not be found around them on land there were some among them who knew how to get food from the ocean for all in the village. The importance of professional fishermen to our food security is just as true today. But the industrial supermarket system has made this important reality unknown to most contemporary consumers.
The New Bedford Working Waterfront Festival brought home to attendees the economic, social, cultural and historical significance of the U.S. fishing industry. The festival was on the three state piers that make up the New Bedford commercial fishing waterfront. Across the road that parallels the waterfront are commercial fishing buildings that date back as far as the 1700s.
Dressed in the shopping trip garb of the 1870s, these re-enactors played residents who lived a couple of blocks from the waterfront. Their husbands were both whalers. Fishermen's Voice photo
In its 12th year, the festival was, as in the past, focused on all things commercial fishing. The 2014 theme was fishing families. Fishing has always been a family-strong business. It has always been the quintessential American gateway to opportunity for those of any stripe who are willing, daring and driven enough, at the risk life and limb at sea, to bring prosperity to their families and sustenance to their communities.
The New Bedford working waterfront is the America of the past and the America of the future. The voices in the crowd, on stage performing, demonstrating fishing gear or teaching cooking techniques were the accented voices of the people of the world. The voices of old Portuguese and new, old Norwegians and new, old Cape Verdian, Brazilian, Irish, African, Caribbean and new. The United States melting pot is thankfully alive and well.
Little Lady. Built at Mystic, Conn., in 1929, the wood trawler is still fishing. Little Lady was open for tours under a new coat of Kirby’s Marine enamel. Fishermen's Voice photo
The vessels tied up at the piers during the festival included the big metal groundfish trawlers, scallopers and sea clammers. More that 125 scallopers and 30 groundfish boats fish out of new Bedford. They ranged from the 103-foot steel scalloper Alaska, recently painted and open for visitor tours, to older, big vessels hoping for a paint job. The 40-foot Maine pinky Aradell, a 17th century reproduction vessel built by the renowned wood shipbuilder Harold Burnham, sailed down from its home port at Essex, Mass. The 30-foot dragger The Dolly , built in 1929 and still fishing, was tied up, showing off its new paint job and all original gear.
All around the festival were stages set up for panels, where fishermen discussed what fishing offshore for days or weeks at a time is like. Elsewhere, traditional fishing community music was being played, and fishermen-contestants shucked scallops, mended nets and donned survival suits. These contests were not just a festival activity: Efficiency and speed are part of working at sea. Fishermen work on a pay system – the share system – as old as the republic and as democratic as the opportunities available. Crew members are paid a share of the catch, so each crew member giving their all serves all.
Laura Orleans, the festival director, said visitors tell her they were unaware of how difficult, dangerous and costly commercial fishing is. She quoted one visitor as saying she “would never complain about the price of fish again.”
Singer-songwriter Jon Campbell performing at one of the three stages at the New Bedford festival. Fishermen's Voice photo
Music
Throughout both days, stage performances were happening at both ends of the festival.
Traditional folk music related to fishing and the sea, sea chanteys, storytellers tall and otherwise. Veteran fisherman-musician Jon Campbell read a few pieces he had written and sang several of his original songs over the two days. Campbell’s wit was at the ready in poem and song. His whaling song, “We’re All Going Whaling, Catch and Release,” stories about growing up fishing, or what it was like growing up in a fishing family flowed all day.
Some spoke of life at home when their father was out for two weeks at a time and home for a couple of days before leaving again. Kirsten Bendiksensaid she remembered her father’s returning from sea as “always being like Christmas.” Ellen Skaar was quoted as saying, “You could never plan a birthday party or an anniversary or Fourth of July, because you never knew if they were going to be in. The only time you knew was Christmas.” They spoke of the greater invested emotions in a family fishing business – the pride of continuing on and the desire to preserve it for their children.
In the Ship-to-Shore event, five members of fishing families recalled the days of ship-to-shore radio. Ship-to-shore radio revolutionized the communications for families to distant family members at sea. However, it had what today would be considered a few operational kinks. A call would be made out to a vessel at sea. But a response to that call could take hours or days. It was more like an aural text with major delayed response. The CB radio era brought a more immediate response. But not everyone had one or could be reached by the signal. The CB radio operator sometimes became the area voice of the local fishermen, transmitting messages to a regular and expectant audience.
Most people, living away from the coast and the fishing industry, have little knowledge that the clock on the wall has much less to do with the rhythm of the day and the cycle of family life than it does with the changing of tides and the length of fishing trips. Panelists who grew up in fishing families related details of their lives, details that few outside fishing communities could have imagined. Holidays, for example, were rarely celebrated on the designated day, but when the fishing boat came in, returning the father of the family. The Christmas holiday was the one exception. Generation after generation, sons followed fathers into the fishing industry. It was a matter of both opportunity and independence.
One of the many cooking demonstrations that included free tastings for the audience. This was a Caribbean spicy specialty. Fishermen's Voice photo
Performers from across the country came to play music, tell stories and regale listeners with comedy sketches. Maine storyteller and folklorist Bob Quinn told stories in the galley of the 103-foot scalloper Alaska, with Maine writer Brian Robbins. People casually gathered around the table where fishermen eat when at sea to listen to Quinn and Robbins speak, and tell stories.
Under a large tent set up for cooking in front of an audience a group of cooks came in every two hours to demonstrate how they prepare a specialty seafood dish. They ranged from old time New England traditional to Caribbean specialty. Each demonstration ended with tastings for the audience.
Seafood dealer Richie Canastra was on the committee that established the festival 12 years ago.
He said the festival was established to re-introduce the waterfront to the general public. The fishing industry remains an economic engine regionally after more than 300 years. Because of the way food is marketed today many people are unaware of the vitality, family life, culture and economic importance of fishing communities. The New Bedford Waterfront Festival puts a proud face on an occupation and industry whose roots are as old as the nation.