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 gre

Jenifer Sanabria emigrated from Honduras to New Bedford, MA nine years ago and currently works in a packing line at a seafood factory. The company works with a variety of fish including filleted codfish, the process starts from when the boats arrive with the product, and they are processed, filleted and packaged for distribution across New England. She has a family back home that she has committed to providing to for the rest of her life. 

Santos Tebalan is from Guatemala and now works in New Bedford painting fishing industry boats. Tebalan shares information about his early years in America, his current work as a boat painter and his thoughts on the future of the fishing industry.

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.

Trish DiCienzo was born in Brockton, Massachusetts in the year 1963, the oldest of four kids. She married at age 18 and moved out to Boston for 22 years then moved to West Roxbury, Massachusetts where she worked in the police department. Later, she moved to Lakeville so she could work at a processing plant in New Bedford. Shortly afterward she was asked to transfer to Maritime Terminal where she works today.

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.

Joao “John” Bernardo describes his work as an upholsterer for the last 38 years, including jobs for commercial fishing boat owners. Bernardo discusses his other jobs related to the commercial fishing industry, working with other Portuguese immigrants in the fish houses and how he learned his current craft.

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.

Rosa emigrated to America from El Salvador and works cleaning fish at a seafood processing plant. Rosa discusses her job training, work with scallops and fish cleaning on the night shift.

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.

Valeriano Garcia is from Guatemala and his job is an essential part of the fishing industry in New Bedford. He shares experiences working at a warehouse and skills that are required.

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.

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.

Joe Moniz first came to the States as a soccer player. Later he emigrated to New Bedford from St. Michael in the Azores, where he’d been a farmer, as were most of his family. He’s been a lumper for many years, although he started out in construction for five years before lumping. He talks about the work of a lumper and the process of unloading boats, changes in the industry and in boats and technology and its effects on the job, changes in kinds and hauls of fish, and his love for the independence of the work.