This is one of a set of 15 oral histories with Portuguese immigrant fishermen who worked out of the port of New Bedford. The project was sponsored by a NOAA Preserve America grant. In this interview Mr. Testa talks about his life prior to coming to the U.S., including fishing, social and religious traditions. Part of that description, includes his tuna-fishing experience in North Africa, and cod-fishing in the Grand Banks during the World War II. He also describes what brought him to the U.S.

This is one of a set of 15 oral histories with Portuguese immigrant fishermen who worked out of the port of New Bedford. The project was sponsored by a NOAA Preserve America grant. In this interview João Fernandes describes his childhood in Portugal as the son of a fisherman, his training to work in the same profession as his father and how he came to Louisiana to work in the shrimp fisheries with other Portuguese immigrants.

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.

Joe Kaknes is a retired fisherman from Gloucester, Massachusetts. He was born in 1950 and grew up in the Bay View neighborhood of Gloucester. His family background is a mix of Greek and Irish heritage. Joe Kaknes is known for his experiences in the fishing industry, particularly swordfishing, and his insights into the challenges and changes faced by fishermen over the years.

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.

Johanna Reichhold is a deckhand, fisher poet, writer, and musician. She hails from Cordova, Alaska. Reichhold, like Bowstern, uses her experiences in the fishing industry to inspire her art. She is of European-American descent. Moe Bowstern was born in 1967 and is a multifaceted artist who works as a deckhand, fisher poet, writer, and musician. She is based in Kodiak, Alaska, but resides in Portland, Oregon. Bowstern has been a part of the Fisher Poets community since 1997 and has participated in the event every year except the second year.

Jeff Ferreira is a 50-year-old supervisor of F & B Rubberized in New Bedford, MA, a company that specializes in tire recycling for use in the fishing industry. In this interview, he describes the history of the company, his job at F & B Rubberized, and the uses of recycled tires in the fishing industry.  He speaks about his company notably as a family business and what he hopes for the future of fishing and tire recycling.  

Francisco Ferreira, known as "Captain Jeff," is a respected commercial fisherman with a rich background rooted in his birthplace of Portugal. He has established his homeport in the bustling fishing community of New Bedford, Massachusetts. With a focus on both scalloping and dragging fishing techniques, Captain Jeff operates aboard the fishing vessel Apollo, a remarkable boat holding dual licenses for scalloping and dragging. Beyond his role as a capable mariner, Captain Jeff maintains a strong connection to the family-owned business, F & B Rubberized.

John Isaksen has been a fisherman since the 1940's. He began fishing as a boy when he lived in Norway. He is the son of a fisherman. He talks about vessels lost at sea, unusual catches, and the men he learned from and the vessels he fished on.

John Isaksen is a retired fisherman, ship repair shop owner, and boat owner. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1936 and moved to Norway with his mother before World War II to care for his sick grandfather. They returned to Brooklyn in 1945 after the war. John's father was a fisherman who operated in Brooklyn during the winter and on George's Bank during the summer. In 1945, John and his family relocated to New Bedford, Massachusetts. He attended vocational high school and embarked on a career in fishing and boat repair.