Uploaded on 2015-06-17 by rl777

> "New Bedford was the [**leading U.S. fishing port**][1] in 2013, landing 379 > million dollars worth of seafood, according to a new report. The finding by > Icelandic Bank Research marks the 15th consecutive year the city has > been the nation’s most prosperous port, even as the total volume of > fish harvested statewide has declined." We have the largest fleet of fishing boats in the USA. We are constructing a $113,000,000 (USD) [**Marine Commerce Terminal**][2] intended to be the staging and support facility for a massive project to field wind turbines/farms in regional bay and Atlantic Ocean waters. ![New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal][3] > “Once constructed, the terminal will be the first facility in the > nation designed to support the construction, assembly, and deployment > of offshore wind projects, as well as handle bulk, break-bulk, > container shipping and large specialty marine cargo. . . . The first > of its kind in North America, the terminal has been engineered to > sustain mobile crane and storage loads that rival the highest capacity > ports in the nation.” Protection of the terminal, the fishing fleet, port facilities, and businesses located in the coastal and flood plain is imperative. The threat of hurricane damage, always a threat, has only increased due to global warming. The [**New Bedford Hurricane Dike**][4], “said to be the largest stone structure on the East Coast and the largest hurricane barrier in the world,” is an example of a critical infrastructure protection element. ![New Bedford Hurricane Dike][5] It is also being viewed for its potential as a [**prime recreational site and tourist attraction**][6] with a project to put a panoramic 3-mile walk and amenities on the top of the barrier, allowing wonderful inner and outer harbor and bay views. [1]: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2015/04/new_bedford_top_port_again_thanks_to_species [2]: http://www.masscec.com/programs/marine-commerce-terminal-new-bedford [3]: http://i.imgur.com/mNZVx17.jpg [4]: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/FloodRiskManagement/Massachusetts/NewBedford.aspx [5]: http://i.imgur.com/ioJPQep.jpg [6]: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20110609/NEWS/106090345