Fishing Families: Tor Bendiksen скачать в хорошем качестве

Fishing Families: Tor Bendiksen

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. 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. This video is part of New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center's "Hauling Back: A Generational Fishing Family Project," which presents stories of multigenerational fishing families and businesses in New Bedford and along the South Coast. 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. For more than a century, the Port of New Bedford has been home to fishing families who work aboard fishing vessels or in the shoreside support industries. For them, fishing is a ‘way of life,’ with skills and knowledge passed from one generation to the next. Today, New Bedford’s fishing industry remains remarkably resilient, and as many industries in the United States continue to globalize, the waterfront still supports many independent, family-owned and operated fishing vessels and shoreside businesses. While some of the families featured in this project are not located in New Bedford, all share a connection to the local fishing industry. These proud waterfront legacies are still alive to this day. Acknowledgements Exhibit Co-curators: Laura Orleans and Joe Ritter Project Videographer: Markham Starr Project Photographer: Phillip Mello Project Webpage Designer: Matt Moyer Bell Additional Archival Research: Connor Gaudet This exhibit has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Maritime Heritage Grant program, administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, through the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin, Chairman. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, or the Massachusetts Historical Commission, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior, or the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Additional support provided by Massachusetts Cultural Council.