NEW BEDFORD — Blue Harvest Fisheries is set to shut down all fishing operations on Friday, its fishermen were told this week. It marks the last in a cascade of sales and closures for the billionaire-backed business venture that once aimed to “dominate” the New England fishing industry but ended up overcapitalized and belly up on the dock.
The company launched in 2015, flush with private equity capital, and expanded at a rapid clip to become the single-largest groundfish permit holder in New England. It still owns the permits and vessels, but seafood industry sources say, after the shut down, a quick sale or bankruptcy filing is likely.
“A big rise leads to a big fall,” said Luke deWildt, captain of the Teresa Marie IV, watching from the helm as 149,180 pounds of mostly redfish and pollock was unloaded at the BASE Seafood Auction on Wednesday night. It was business as usual when he set out on the trip 10 days ago, he said. But on return, he said he received a call from management: “They told us, on Friday, they’d be chaining the doors shut.” He said his trip was the last for the Blue Harvest fleet.
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