This is a loving portrait of a single mother who worked extremely hard to provide for her children.  In this interview, Debra Soares describes her mother’s resilient, hardworking nature in the face of long, cold hours working as a fish processor.  She extolls the importance of extended kinship networks, the power of being raised by a village, and the sacrifices that the women in her mother’s generation and the first-generation immigrants from Cape Verde made working in the fish houses.

Edie Mikina was born in Angola, in West Africa, of Portuguese heritage and came to the US in 1970.  She is the owner of Edie and Marie Boat Settlements in New Bedford, which handles accounting work for fishing vessels out of New Bedford and Fairhaven, which she describes as “one business handling 50 businesses.”  She talks about her work and services to fishermen, especially to Portuguese clients, and contrasts past and present in the boat settlement business and in the industry.  This is a lively and informative interview and conveys a great deal of historical and topi

Elias Tsoy discusses his work in the fishing industry as a ship painter, including a typical work day and common boat painting projects; his background in other jobs and his emigration from Guatemala.

This oral history was produced in 2017 as part of the Workers on the Waterfront Oral History Project conducted by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center with funding from an Archie Green Fellowship provided by the Library of Congress.

Eliezer “Eli” Lopez is a retired fish cutter who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New Bedford as an infant. He dedicated over 40 years of his life to working in the fishing industry in New Bedford. In his interview, he mentions the different fish houses he worked for and the people he worked with. Eli also describes the culture of the time, and his experience with alcohol and substance abuse, and shares his personal journey towards spirituality, highlighting challenges and lessons learned.

Eoin Rochford is the Plant Manager of the Northern Pelagic Group (NORPEL) fish processing plant in New Bedford, MA. In this interview he discusses the evolution of the fishing industry in New Bedford and New England. He also explains his personal history and career, including his time working as an engineer on fishing boats, fishing in Alaska, updating fishing boats, working at the NORPEL plant in New Bedford, and exporting fish to Nigeria. Mr. Rochford explains his opinions about immigrant workers in America, the future of alternative energies, and the fishing industry.

Esteban migrated from Guatemala to America and has resided in New Bedford for twenty years. He learned how to weld and work on motors in his homeland and carried these skills to New Bedford. He is a boat mechanic insuring that the fishermen are able to fish in a safe vessel. He has two children and would like to continue the American dream by passing his skills to his children in hopes for their success.

In this interview, Francisco Cardoso speaks about growing up in Cape Verde, immigrating to the U.S., and working first as a boat painter and later as a Hydraulics and Control Lead for Atlantic Shellfish Inc. Francisco discusses the economic pull factors that led him to the U.S. as well as the ways he takes pride in his Cape Verdean heritage. He discusses the challenges of learning a new language and how the ethnic and linguistic diversity and mentorship of his co-workers in the commercial fishing industry helped him acclimate to life in the U.S.

In this interview, Francisco “Chiquinho” Almeida describes his journey from Cape Verde to Portugal to the United States and the many jobs he held before becoming a scalloper. He describes the role of language in the commercial fishing industry and how regulations have affected him and the commercial fishing industry at large.

Giao Van Dang was a scalloper who left his homeland of Vietnam as a part of the boat exodus after the Vietnam War. Like the other refugees in the boat, Giao fled the country with the hopes of finding better opportunities. Through hard work and determination, Giao was able to carve out a life for himself in America, returning to the ocean that he loved. Giao is currently happily retired and still stays connected to the ocean.

Guadalupe is an employee at a company that cleans fish. She shares her work experiences and life experiences.

This oral history was produced in 2017 as part of the Workers on the Waterfront Oral History Project conducted by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center with funding from an Archie Green Fellowship provided by the Library of Congress.