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In fishing, hauling back is the process of retrieving fishing gear from the water after it is deployed. And just as fishermen haul back their nets to bring in the catch, so too do fishing families pull knowledge and skills from the past to share with future generations.
While many of the families featured in this project are not located in New Bedford, all of the families share a connection to the commercial fishing industry and the working waterfront. Those waterfront legacies are still alive to this day.
The Bendiksen family has been involved in the commercial fishing industry for at least four generations. The family traces its origins back to Karmøy, a traditional fishing community on the west coast of Norway. Karluf Bendiksen immigrated to the United States in 1951 and fished alongside his brother Bjarne. His sons Ole and Reidar came to the South Coast in the 1960s and both fished in the New Bedford fleet. After thirty years on the water, Reidar established Reidar’s Manufacturing Inc., a net and marine supply company on Water Street in Fairhaven. Eventually the family outgrew that space and purchased land in New Bedford where they designed and built a new shop. Today the company is managed by Reidar’s sons Tor and Hans who continue to design, manufacture, and repair trawl nets and scallop dredges and innovate gear that is more selective for fishermen and fisheries scientists throughout the region.
ABOVE: Karluf Bendiksen during a fishing trip in 1966. He fished in the United States from 1951 until the mid-1970s. He was part owner F/V Polaris, F/V Moby Dick and F/V Viking. Photo courtesy of Reidar and Kirsten Bendiksen.
BELOW: The Bendiksen family at the New Bedford Blessing of the Fleet ceremony. From left to right: Reidar, Ingebjorg, Tove, Hans, Kirsten, and Tor. Photo courtesy of Reidar and Kirsten Bendiksen.
The Bendiksen family has played an important role as both innovators and advocates for the commercial fishing industry. As a young man, Reidar Bendiksen experimented with the gear he used on fishing trips and thought about ways to make it more efficient and safer to use. He invented a new scallop dredge safety hook and a “bolshline” hanger. He also holds a patent for his sweepline roller-stopper, a device that prevents bottom-trawl nets from becoming tangled in their own sweepline. Reidar, his wife Kirsten, and their three children were instrumental in the creation of the Working Waterfront Festival, an educational celebration of the industry. Kirsten was the co-founder and co-director of the Festival. Kirsten was also a founding board member of New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and she and Reidar continue to volunteer their time educating the public about the history of the commercial fishing industry.
ABOVE: Reidar Bendiksen (left) pictured at Reidar’s Manufacturing in 1993. This photo was featured in The Barnacle magazine (Vol. 4, No. 2, Jan. 21, 1993). Photo by John Ryan, courtesy of Reidar and Kirsten Bendiksen.
BELOW: Tor Bendiksen (left) mending a net at Reidar’s Manufacturing in New Bedford. Tor and his brother Hans took over management of the shop after their father Reidar retired. Photo by Phil Mello.
More from the Bendiksen Vault:
The Quintin and Frye families have fished in New Bedford for at least five generations. Theirs is a story familiar to many South Coast fishing families, one of faith, tradition, loss, and resilience. Born in New Bedford, Wilfred Quintin fished aboard the dragger F/V Paolina. The Paolina was lost in rough seas with all hands in 1952. Wilfred’s son Thomas fished for thirty years and his children Thomas Jr. and Tammie fished as well. Captain Thomas “Tommy” Quintin, Jr. also educated members of the public about commercial fishing during the Working Waterfront Festival and the early years of the Fishing Heritage Center. He was lost at sea in 2017. Since his death, Tommy’s daughter Kaylen and his sister Tammie carry on his legacy as volunteers at the Center.
ABOVE: Hudson (left) and Dalton Frye (right) are active commercial fishermen in New Bedford and fish together aboard F/V McKensie Lee and F/V Sharon K. Photo courtesy of Tammie Frye.
BELOW: A young Dalton Frye with his maternal grandfather Thomas Quintin, Sr. Photo courtesy of Tammie Frye.
Wayne Frye owned F/V Creole Bell and he and his sister Sherri fished commercially. Wayne married Tammie Quintin who fished with him and his sister until she was six months pregnant with her first son. Today, Wayne and Tammie’s children carry on the family tradition. Both Dalton and Hudson Frye have fished with their father since they were children. Hudson has worked as a lobsterman and scalloper. He owned F/V Creole Bell and F/V Invader and skippered F/V Sharon K. He currently owns and operates F/V Resilience and is part owner of the scalloper F/V McKensie Lee. In 2023, Hudson and his wife McKensie founded the Frye Fish Company in Fairhaven. Dalton works as mate and engineer aboard F/V McKensie Lee and F/V Sharon K.
ABOVE: Pictured from left to right are Wayne, Hudson, and Dalton Frye on a family fishing trip. Photo courtesy of Tammie Frye.
BELOW: Hudson Frye and his wife McKensie pictured in front of F/V McKensie Lee. Photo courtesy of Tammie Frye.
More from the Quintin & Frye Vault:
The Doucettes have been fishing in New England for four generations. Captain Louis A. Doucette Sr. (1879-1965), the patriarch of the Massachusetts Doucettes, immigrated to the United States from Nova Scotia, where his father had been a fisherman. Louis fished on Boston-based schooners on Georges Bank and the Grand Banks before settling in Edgartown. In 1910, he was awarded the Carnegie Medal for rescuing 15 fishermen from the Schooner Martie B. Crowley off the coast of Edgartown. His sons, Louis (1911-2006) and Herbert (1918-1955) also became accomplished fishermen in the New Bedford fleet. His grandson, Albert, and great-grandson, Albert Jr., also carried on the fishing tradition. Albert Jr. currently works for the Steamship Authority.
ABOVE: A young Albert Doucette Sr. (left) and his father Louis Doucette (right) aboard the “iced-up” F/V Sankaty Head in New Bedford Harbor. Photo courtesy of Al Doucette.
BELOW: Al Doucette pauses for a candid shot during a fishing trip. Al fished in the New Bedford Fleet off and on for four decades, making his first scalloping trip when he was just 15 years old. He retired from commercial fishing in 1977 and opened the Whale’s Tale Scrimshaw in New Bedford. Photo courtesy of Al Doucette.
ABOVE: A lifelong maritime artist, Al opened a scrimshaw business in New Bedford. Whale’s Tale was originally located on Centre Street before moving to North Water Street in 1985. Although he closed the Whale’s Tale in 2006, Al continues to make art on commission at his home workshop. Photo by Phil Mello.
Like many South Coast fishing families, the Doucettes were no strangers to tragedy. Louis Doucette Sr.’s father was lost at sea when he was only 11 years old. Louis was nearly killed when his schooner, The Gleaner, exploded near Brooklyn in 1919, an accident that left four men dead and Louis severely injured. Herbert and his brother-in-law Joshua Murphy were lost with nine other men aboard F/V Doris Gertrude in 1955. Both are memorialized in the Seamen’s Bethel. Albert Doucette Sr. had many close calls, including nearly being lost at sea when his fishing vessel F/V Donna Lynn was rammed by a cargo ship in 1977.
ABOVE: a photo of F/V Donna Lynn showing severe damage to her stern after being rammed by the Israeli cargo ship Zim Genova in 1977. Photo courtesy of Al Doucette.
BELOW: An article from The Standard-Times discussing the accident. Photo and newspaper clipping courtesy of Al Doucette.
More from the Doucette Vault:
The Eastern Fisheries Group was founded in 1978 as a partnership between the O’Hara Corporation and Nordic Fisheries. Headquartered in New Bedford, Eastern Fisheries owns one of the world’s largest scallop fleets, and has subsidiaries in three continents. Though Eastern is the largest business we are exploring as part of the Hauling Back project, both Nordic Fisheries and O’Hara Corporation are multi-generational, family-owned businesses, and can trace their waterfront origins to two Massachusetts fishing families: the O’Haras of Boston and the Enoksens of New Bedford.
ABOVE: Roy Enoksen, founder of Nordic Fisheries, immigrated to the United States in 1946 from Røst, a small island off the coast of Norway. He and his father fished in Fairhaven, Roy taking his first trip when he was only 11 years old. Today, Roy’s son Ronald serves as President of the company, while his son-in-law Peter acts as Treasurer. Photo courtesy of Roy Enoksen.
BELOW: Following the founding of Eastern Fisheries in 1978, the company began the construction of a new vessel, F/V Friendship to symbolize the new partnership between O’Hara and Nordic. The Friendship was constructed at the Harvey Gamage Shipyard in Maine and is still in use today. Photo courtesy of O’Hara Corporation.
1907
Francis J. O’Hara founded the Atlantic & Pacific Seafood Company in Boston. In 1921, the company was renamed F.J. O’Hara & Sons. The company expanded out of Massachusetts in the late 1930s, first to Portland, Maine, and then to Rockland, Maine where their headquarters is still located today.
1968
Nordic Fisheries is founded in New Bedford by Roy Enoksen, as a scalloping company Nordic purchases its first scalloper, F/V Sea Trek, that same year.
1978
Eastern Fisheries founded, co-owned by O’Hara and Nordic. In 1982, Eastern’s first scallop processing plant opened in New Bedford.
2002 – Present
Eastern Fisheries continues to expand under the partnership between O’Hara Corporation and Nordic Industries. By 2017, Eastern has operations in the United States, East Asia, and Europe.
More from the Eastern Fisheries Vault:
Turk’s Seafood in Mattapoisett was established as Big Turk’s Seafood Market in 1983 by Richard “Turk” Pasquill, his wife Judith, and his son Richie. In 1989, Turk’s moved to its current location on Route 6 in Mattapoisett. Since then, the business has continued to grow from a small, family-owned seafood counter into a full-fledged seafood market, restaurant, and sushi bar with a staff of 80. Richie is in the process of passing the business and its traditions to the next generation, his cousin Kaylen and her husband Aaron.
Over the years, Turk’s has never forgotten its ties to the New Bedford waterfront. Both Richard and his son Richie worked on the docks, unloading fishing vessels when they returned to port. Richie carries on the tradition today, traveling to New Bedford’s seafood auction several times a week in order to provide fresh, locally caught product for his customers.
Turk’s founder Richard “Turk” Pasquill (pictured left) worked on the New Bedford waterfront as a lumper, unloading fishing vessels of their cargo when they returned to port and filling their fish pens with ice.
Turk’s remains proudly family owned. Richie’s cousin Kaylen and her husband Aaron both work at Turk’s and are primed to take over the business when Richie retires.
More from the Turk’s Vault:
More Family stories coming soon!
