Commercial fishing is America’s oldest industry, having existed along the New England coast since the beginning of European settlement. It is a significant part of New Bedford’s economy and cultural identity, yet because so much of the work takes place out of sight, this culture is largely unknown and often misunderstood by those outside the industry.

MIT Sea Grant’s anthropologist Madeleine Hall-Arber served on the board of directors for the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center (NBFHC), a non-profit organization dedicated to telling the story of fishing in New Bedford and surrounding areas. The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and Museum enables the fishing community to share its rich history and culture with school children, residents, and tourists. Those in the industry were anxious to have a place where their experience and many contributions to the community were acknowledged, and so this opportunity allows the community to develop a greater understand and connection to the commercial port in their backyard.

MIT Sea Grant has developed a systematic approach to analyzing public comments on fishing regulations that will help fisheries managers improve their decision-making. Herring is a species critical to commercial lobstermen and recreational fishermen as bait, in addition to being an important food source for tuna, humpback whales, seabirds, groundfish, and striped bass. Despite the long standing requirement that social impact assessments (SIAs) be done for any proposed changes in fisheries management, fisheries managers often find it difficult to incorporate meaningful social impact assessments in the development of fisheries regulations.

MIT Sea Grant worked closely with regional Fisheries Council staff to prepare SIAs for several amendments to the regulations involving herring. MIT Sea Grant developed software that identified themes in public comments and helped quantify their apparent importance among stakeholders to consider the social impacts, along with biological concerns, to improve the fisheries management decision-making process.

The ability of coastal communities to increase resilience to storm impacts requires careful planning through design and adaptation training. Providing professional training opportunities enables community planners, emergency managers, and state and federal agencies to better prepare and manage the impacts of severe storm events, increasing resilience of coastal communities.

MIT Sea Grant partnered with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Authority and Woods Hole Sea Grant to present "Hurriplan Workshops." This two-day performance-level course provided professionals with the training necessary to integrate resilient community planning and building design strategies with civic and commercial projects located in hurricane-prone areas. As a direct result of the information received and networking done at that training, The City of Gloucester made substantial changes in their shelter plans, resulting in a much more hurricane resilient plan for sheltering in that location. City officials commented that if not for the workshop they would not have had the opportunity to fully discuss and assess their vulnerabilities prior to a disaster.