January 14, 2020 — Now that their only competitor has dropped out of the bidding, Keith Decker, the CEO of Blue Harvest Fisheries, expects to close his company’s deal for 15 of Carlos Rafael’s groundfish vessels in the US port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, within the next few weeks, The Standard-Times, the community’s local newspaper, reported Friday.
“At this time, no, I don’t see any further impediments to closing the transaction,” he reportedly told the newspaper, adding that Blue Harvest plans to keep the vessels in New Bedford.
Undercurrent News broke the news on Jan. 8 that Richard and Raymond Canastra, the founders and owners of the Buyers and Sellers Exchange, New Bedford’s main seafood auction, have withdrawn their offer to acquire the vessels and their related permits.
The Canastras, back on Dec. 20, attempted to use a “right of first refusal” rule in New England’s Sector VII, which gives members of the greater Northeast Sector Service Network — including BASE — 30 days to match any offer for vessels by companies or persons from outside the network, jumping ahead of Blue Harvest and its $19.3 million bid made on Nov. 21. The Canastras said they planned to sell the boats and their permits to individual harvesters in New Bedford. However, the two brothers said they lost their financial backers when Blue Harvest filed a lawsuit, on Dec. 23, in a Massachusetts state court.