November 9, 2023 — The following statement was released by C&P Trawlers:
C&P Trawlers LLC is a Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) formed by Ms. Cassie Canastra and Mr. Charles “Butch” Payne, and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Earlier today, Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein, the federal judge in Delaware who is overseeing Blue Harvest Fisheries’ Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, approved a $12 million offer by C&P Trawlers for Blue Harvest’s eight vessels and 48 federal and state fishing permits.
“As is well known, I grew up in a fishing family, and started attending the daily auctions when I was six years old. To be able to return to New Bedford after college and join my family in the seafood industry was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. It was an honor last January, after nine years, to assume the role as leader of all of our seafood corporations on day-to-day basis,” said Cassie Canastra, manager of C&P Trawlers.
“As the manager of C&P Trawlers, I was delighted to learn that C&P submitted the winning bid in the auction to acquire the vessels and permits previously owned by Blue Harvest Fisheries,” she said. “Butch and I look forward to operating those vessels from the Port of New Bedford.”
Members of Ms. Canastra’s family who are participants in other Canastra family businesses are not involved with C&P Trawlers.
Charles “Butch” Payne is a vessel owner from Montauk, New York whose boats fish for southern New England species including squid and whiting. He looks forward to expanding his existing vessel operations from the Port of New Bedford.
Cassie Canastra is the leader of a number of her family’s seafood businesses, including the 29-year-old Whaling City auction, Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE). She was named 2018 South Coast Woman of the Year by the New Bedford Standard-Times for her dedication to the region’s fishing industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of the Holy Cross, and a Professional Science Master’s (PSM) from the UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST).