September 25, 2017 — Could old friends of Carlos Rafael’s wind up with his massive New England fishing fleet?
Speculation is building that the Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE), an electronic seafood auction firm in New Bedford, Massachusetts, could be the company mentioned in court documents as having signed a memorandum of agreement to buy the 30-something vessels, an unknown number of skiffs, and some 50 state and federal permits to catch scallops, cod, haddock and many other fish found in the Gulf of Maine.
Richard and Raymond Canastra, BASE’s co-owners, were not in their offices on Friday, a company employee told Undercurrent News. But many see it as a likely match.
Raymond Canastra is reported to be a long-time friend of Rafael’s. The two mens’ daughters co-own a seafood brokerage firm in New Bedford.
The Canastra brothers don’t have fishing boats, but if they were able to acquire the Rafael operation, “it would not be a surprise to anyone”, Jim Kendall, a longtime member of the area fishing community and the executive director of New Bedford Seafood Consulting, told Undercurrent.
The Canastras know the fishing industry well, and probably wouldn’t have too much trouble making Rafael’s business work with theirs, he said. There is little money to be made in groundfish, but Rafael’s scallops permits could be quite valuable. Also, it would satisfy the goal of keeping nearly 300 jobs in the area.