Voices from the Port

The Working Waterfront Festival's Voices from the Port is a series of short radio pieces based on oral histories collected as part of the Working Waterfront Documentation Project. The four minute programs are designed to provide another window into the history and culture of the working port, and encourage listeners to visit New Bedford, America's #1 Port to learn more. The project was made possible with funding from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.

Click on a title to hear the oral histories

Changes in Technology
The commercial fishing industry has seen incredible changes in technology especially with regard to navigation (4:14).

Immigration and Ethnicity
Immigrants from around the globe have settled in New Bedford’s port cities, creating a rich mosaic of cultural influences (3:53).

Longshoremen
New Bedford longshoreman Ray Houtman talks about the work of longshoremen who load and unload cargo from large vessels (3:16).

Lumpers
Lumpers unload the fish from the boats.  Hear two New Bedford lumpers talk about how their work has changed over the years (3:52).

Storms at Sea
Commercial fishing is one of the world’s most dangerous occupations in part because contending with unpredictable weather, frigid temperatures, icy waters and high winds are a part of the job description (4:32).

The Future
The future of the fishing industry is in jeopardy.  Fishermen struggle with a host of challenges including government regulations, waterfront access and rising prices for everything from fuel and ice to insurance and gear.  Fishermen and business owners from Alaska, New Bedford and Chatham discuss the bleak future of the industry (3:32).

Unusual Catches
New England’s fishermen harvest millions of pounds of seafood each year.  Anyone who has fished for any length of time has a story about something unexpected that came up in the net (3:49).

Women in the Industry
Women are employed in many aspects of the commercial fishing industry – as captains and deckhands, in processing plants and shoreside businesses, as advocates, fisheries scientists and boat owners (4:11).

Close Calls
Commercial fishing is one of the world’s most dangerous occupations. Fishermen must contend with icy temperatures, stormy seas, hazardous gear, and treacherous shoals (4:07).

Cooperative Research
Here fisheries scientists discuss the importance of working with fishermen to gather data related to management of the resource (4:36).

Regulations 1: Generational Knowledge
Commercial fishing is still an industry where knowledge is passed down from one generation to the next. Fishermen know that the nature of fishing and fish stocks are cyclical and waiting for science to prove what generations of fishing experience already understands can be economically devastating (3:40).

Regulations 2: Socio-Economic Impact
The socio-economic impacts of fisheries regulations on traditional fishing communities have been devastating. Industry personnel talk about how regulations have affected their communities (4:06).

Shoreside Businesses
Owners of several shoreside support businesses talk about their role in the industry (3:40).

The Old Auction Program 1: The Foundation of the Industry
Up until the mid-1980's the New Bedford seafood auction took place in the Wharfinger Building on Pier 3. In this program several individuals reminisce about what it was like in the old days (4:09).

The Old Auction Program 2: You Can't Say it was Fair
Up until the mid-1980's the New Bedford seafood auction took place in the Wharfinger Building on Pier 3. In this program several individuals reminisce about what it was like in the old days (3:13).

The Old Auction Program 3: A Million Pounds in 22 Minutes
Up until the mid-1980's the New Bedford seafood auction took place in the Wharfinger Building on Pier 3. In this program several individuals reminisce about what it was like in the old days (3:39).

Fishermen's Wives Program 1: The Things They Didn't Tell Us
Fishermen's wives share stories of close calls and stormy weather and some of the scary experiences their husbands had out to sea that they didn't learn about until later.

Fishermen's Wives Program 2: It takes a Special Person
Being a fisherman's wife takes a special kind of person; several wives reflect on their role.

Fishermen's Wives Program 3: Absence Makes the Heart Grown Fonder
When you are part of a fishing family, you have to be flexible because the unpredictable nature of the work makes it hard to plan.

Workplace Pranks
Humor is an important coping mechanism in any stressful situation. As the world's most dangerous occupation, commercial fishing has its share of workplace humor.

Groundfishing in the Good Old Days 1
Retired New Bedford fisherman Herman Bruce describes the process of setting out the net in the days before hydraulics.

Groundfishing in the Good Old Days 2
Retired New Bedford fisherman Herman Bruce talks about the challenges of mending nets on an Eastern Rig Trawler in the 1960's.

Cod Fishing on the Grand Banks
Retired New Bedford fisherman Richard MacLeod tells how he got his start fishing for cod on the Grand Banks in 1936.

Tugs! Rescue of the Pilgrim Bell
Tug boat captain Charlie Mitchell tells the story he and his crew played in the rescue of the Pilgrim Bell, a coastal cruiser which ran into trouble on Sow and Pigs Reef.