You walk into the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and are challenged to put on an orange survival suit, the same suit fishermen have on their vessels while out at sea, just in case of danger. It's always exciting when student groups walk through the Fishing Heritage Center's main exhibit because it is so hands-on, according to Matt Moyer-Bell, the center's marketing director. When the students try the suit on, they learn how dangerous the job of a fisherman can be and how having these suits on fishing vessels save lives.
The Fishing Heritage Center and city of New Bedford are featured in a new commercial aimed at attracting visitors to learn more about the fishing industry and life on the waterfront from the fishermen themselves. And maybe if they are extra interested, they will book a group tour and we'll show them all the things that they see in the commercial in person," he said. Fishing: New Bedford oral history exhibit tells the stories of immigrants in the fishing industry.
It's an effort to share the whole New Bedford experience including visiting its working waterfront, learning about the seafood industry and getting educated about the overall history of the city. With a new website and a new commercial, the Fishing Heritage Center wants to showcase what it has to offer as a community resource center, and they are just getting started.
Programs Manager Joe Ritter said its oral history collection has been a great resource for sharing that history with the public. They continue to record stories from fishermen and fishing families who have been working in New Bedford and on the SouthCoast for generations and make them available to visitors through their Voices archive.
Fishing: The art of handcrafted fishing nets: Cuban-born net maker shares his journey to New Bedford. He said there are opportunities for visitors to meet with local fishermen and get their perspectives both at the center and when they start their regular fishing industry and waterfront tours in the late spring and continuing into the fall. It is open from 10 a. Thursday through Sunday and by appointment. It is wheelchair-accessible. The center's current "Catch the Tradition" campaign focuses on generational knowledge being passed down through the ages.
