November Dock-u-mentary: Last Season: Portrait of a Trawler

Hosted in partnership with New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, Dock-u-mentaries is a free film series that explores themes and topics related to the commercial fishing industry and the working waterfront. 

On Friday, November 15, we will be screening the documentary film Last Season: Portrait of a Trawler. Last Season is a portrait of the ground fish trawler Isabel S. from New Bedford, MA. Jeff, the captain, learned fishing from his father, local legend 'Fearless Freddy' Hatfield. Brian, the cook, is a biker and a recovering alcoholic. Lo, the deckhand, is a refugee from Vietnam who has rediscovered Buddhism. We accompany them to the once-ample fishing areas of Georges Bank and the Nantucket Shoals, where they haul in nets, and do the backbreaking and bloody work of hand-cutting thousands of pounds of cod and other fish on a pitching trawl deck. The boat is revealed as a social microcosm. Captain Jeff, the son of an esteemed local captain, is at the top of the order, and Lo, who arrived in the U.S. after a harrowing escape from a Viet Cong J*il, is at the bottom. Fishing is a complicated and sometimes deadly business. Detailed knowledge of the ocean floor and the habits of fish is crucial to success. But, as Captain Jeff acknowledges as the Isabel S. returns with its catch, "Sometimes a lot of it is a little luck". Total runtime: 28 minutes

Dock-u-mentaries is and will always be a free program. Please consider making a donation to support the Fishing Heritage Center’s programs and events. Visit FHC’s website to make a donation: https://fishingheritagecenter.org/support/donate/

Host or Publisher New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center