In 2019, Blue Harvest sold the facility it is now shutting down to an Arizona-based real estate firm, Store Capital, for $20.5 million. In October, The Light also reported that the Justice Department was probing antitrust issues in the fishing industry.Įven as Blue Harvest continued acquiring vessels, and despite the capital behind those acquisitions, the company has shown signs of struggling financially. In 2022, an investigation by The Light revealed that Blue Harvest is one company that highlights the growing influence of foreign capital and private equity in the domestic fishing industry. The rapid acquisition spree was backed by Bregal Partners, a private equity firm that is a subsidiary of a holding company owned by one of the wealthiest families in the Netherlands - the Brenninkmiejer family. It replaced a different Blue Harvest vessel, named the Nobska, which burned at sea in 2021. This year, the company purchased one of the newest groundfish vessels operating in New England waters, the F/V Francis Dawn, which formerly fished out of Maine. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to fraud and tax evasion related to mislabeling fish and was forced to sell his fleet. In 2020, it notably acquired 12 vessels and 27 permits from the infamous New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael. At the peak of its operations, it owned 15 scallop vessels and the largest groundfish fleet in New England. The decision to shut down its New Bedford fish processing plant comes at a dissonant moment for the company.īlue Harvest was founded in 2015 and expanded at a fast clip. It’s important “that workers have access to the support services they need to be able to transition as quickly as possible to employment with other local businesses.” “My office has been in communication with Blue Harvest and has stressed the importance of the company coordinating closely with MassHire Greater New Bedford and the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development,” he said in a statement to The Light. Mayor Jon Mitchell said his first concern is with the workers and their families. But who knows? We’re just told to go fishing.” “Everyone’s making decisions, but they’re not talking to the guys catching the fish,” said one Blue Harvest fisherman, who asked not to be identified. “The company will continue to sell fish to buyers as it always has, in accordance with its historical practice.”īlue Harvest employees, both processors and fishermen, were confused and frustrated by the sudden announcement. Harvesting efforts will continue unaffected,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to the Light. The vessels will remain ported in New Bedford, he added. Only those working in the 160,000-square-foot seafood processing facility - not fishermen or managers - will lose their jobs, according to the company. It currently holds permits for about 12% of all New England’s groundfish quota, which translates to about 46 million pounds of species like Atlantic cod, haddock and ocean perch for the current fishing year.īlue Harvest employs or contracts about 120 workers, including processors, fishermen and managers. The company is not selling its fishing vessels or permits, according to a company spokesperson. This action is expected to be permanent,” the company wrote in a letter to its staff, signed by company president Chip Wilson and dated Friday, March 24. “All Blue Harvest employees who perform food processing work at this facility will be separated. NEW BEDFORD - Blue Harvest Fisheries, the largest groundfish operation in New England, is shutting down its fish processing plant on the city’s working waterfront and laying off 64 employees effective May 26, the company announced today.
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