New Bedford fishing earns $322 million, but why does so little flow to the residents?

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New Bedford once again is the nation’s most-valued fishery with a total catch worth $322 million. In fact we’ve finished number one for over a decade. That’s 124 million pounds of seafood that our hard working fishermen pulled from the sea in 2015. 

Some questions come to mind after hearing the news; how much of that money flows into New Bedford? How much tax revenue does the city get and how many of the best paying fishing jobs are filled by New Bedford residents? How many residents own the companies? 

In the same week another article came out that provided some insight.

The Boston Globe reported that in 2015, the same year New Bedford hauled in $322 million in fishing revenue, more than 15,000 Massachusetts residents made more than $1 million in income. One would think that with New Bedford raking in $322 million in fishing revenue, that we would have a lot of million dollar incomes, right?

Wrong.

Boston topped the list with 2,031 people with an income of $1 million or more. Newton had 1,284 and locally, Dartmouth had 52. How many did the city with the number one port in America with a population of 100,000 people have?

Four.

Even the town of Fairhaven with 1/7th of the population had 9 people make over $1 million. Acushnet with 10,000 people had 4. 

Obviously, this million dollar income statistic doesn’t come close to telling the full story, but it does tell you that the people making the most money from the fishing industry don’t live in New Bedford. 

How can the city with the #1 fishing revenue in America for over a decade be one of the poorest cities in Massachusetts? New Bedford income per capita is $21,343 and the median household income for New Bedford is $36,789, or almost half the state average. 21% of New Bedford residents make less than $15,000. It’s hard to imagine a lot of that $322 million staying in New Bedford with such depressing income levels. 

New Bedford is grateful for all the jobs and tax revenue created by the fishing industry, but the city should do a study on how much the fishing industry profits flow into the resident’s pockets. Find out why New Bedford residents don’t seem to get the highest paying jobs let alone own the comapnies. Are there training programs that can be offered? Incentives that can be provided? 

Try doing some research and you’ll find that there really isn’t much data or studies performed on the New Bedford fishing industry when it comes to cash staying in the city or how many jobs are New Bedford jobs.

Sure, the Port of New Bedford website will tell you New Bedford’s Fishing port created 4,000 jobs, but not how many of the best jobs are filled by New Bedford residents? The site will also let you know that,”New Bedford is the number one value fishing port in the nation generating economic activity in excess of $1 billion.” $1 billion? Then how is New Bedford one of the poorest cities in Massachusetts? Other comparable cities like Fall River don’t have the #1 fishing port in the country for over a decade – so why are we in the same league when it comes to income levles? 

New Bedford has missed the boat on the billion dollar casino and seems to be passing on marijuana dispensaries, but the city still has the #1 fishing port in the nation. It’s important that New Bedford’s leaders conduct studies that help to understand how much of the fishing profits head out of the city and how we can keep the money here. With City elections coming in 2017, a smart candidate would make this an issue. 

 

 

 

 

About Michael Silvia

Served 20 years in the United States Air Force. Owner of New Bedford Guide.

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2 comments

  1. Thank you for writing this article, and also being on WBSM today with our very own Mr. Barry Richardson. Thank you for your time. You have done outstanding balance in Our beautiful city.

  2. Money doesn’t flow as you would expect because commercial fishing is a dangerous and hard working job. Most people don’t want to do it. So, it allows for fishermen from all over the east coast to come take those positions locals don’t want.

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