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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 11
July 2006
Memories of what makes Beideman irreplaceable
by Larry Sylvia
Some people touch you and become part of your life. Nelson Beideman, whose nickname was “Hammer,” was one of those special people.
In 1988 I began to speak by phone to Nelson about upcoming regulations, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meetings, and other things. I heard the sincerity in his voice and felt his drive.
I remember our first meeting. I had pictured in my mind this 7' tall, blond, Norwegian THOR “Hammer.” Little did I know that this average looking guy was going to leave a lasting mark on my life. I guess from the beginning he was bigger than life to me and thousands of others. His smile let you know that you were always part of his extended family.
Nelson was well respected not only among the crews of the vessels in the fleet, but by just about everyone who got to know him. He was the type of guy who would give the shirt off his back if you needed it more.
He loaned fishing gear while at sea even though he might have needed it himself. He shared his knowledge of fishing with anyone who asked. Commercial fishing can be very competitive, yet Nelson knew the bigger picture. It was not who caught the most in Nelson’s competitive arena, but what was good for the US fleet and everyone involved.
Blue Water takes form
After 1989, my life changed forever as I became involved daily with Blue Water Fishermen’s Association. We used every avenue back then to get information out to everyone who would be affected by the South Atlantic council’s actions on swordfish.
Nelson was out on the water directing the fleet in the battle for survival. He rallied the troops at sea and they in turn rallied the families and businesses back home. I was one of those back home, working from our family’s plant in New Bedford – Frank Sylvia & Sons, which later became Family (F&S) Fisheries Inc.
I remember with a smile today burning out two of our company’s expensive fax machines. They ran almost 24 hours a day.
I don’t believe NMFS and the South Atlantic council ever received so many letters, faxes, and information as they did in those early Blue Water years. I remember talking to the council’s executive director and, at one point, he asked me if I could please have everyone use the mail. He said Nelson and the Blue Water gang had used up all the fax paper the council had in stock.
From that day on, Nelson became known to many as “Tree Killer.” All that data and information overwhelmed people. But if you asked for help from Nelson –- no matter who you were – you got it on a scale unequaled in this universe. This is a small piece of his legacy.
The Terri Lei
I recently saw videos of Nelson as a deckhand right out of high school. His love for fishing took him from deckhand to captain of his own vessel to captain of the US fleet. The fleet respected and listened to his ideas and views. His rational voice was heard among all competing users of the ocean.
I remember visiting Nelson during the summer of 1991. Nelson had just returned from a tuna trip. He wanted to show me his second love, the Terri Lei, the vessel named after his wife, who was by far the first love of his life.
The Terri Lei was a unique vessel, and Nelson knew every inch of her. But in 1993, she and her crew were lost at sea. To this day, no one really knows what happened during that horrible tragedy.
I remember talking to Nelson during that painful time. In many ways, he felt guilty. If it were not for a back operation, he could have been aboard the vessel. The loss of his crew worked on him and Terri.
I know that accident profoundly changed Nelson’s family and Blue Water. After that, he became our industry’s drive and voice both here in the US and around the world, especially at meetings of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
On the road
For more than 10 years as a director and officer of Blue Water, I talked daily to Nelson and Terri, who was our rational voice and kept us focused on the bigger picture. I traveled with Nelson to meetings in Washington, DC. We went to ICCAT meetings in Madrid and elsewhere. I saw and listened to his unwavering sincerity through it all.
While I was gone on one of my hundreds of trips with Nelson and other Blue Water leaders, my family painted my office blue – the same color as our Blue Water logo. They put up “Wanted” posters around the plant saying, “Larry Sylvia: Missing but never forgotten.” And they tacked up pictures of me in the presence of Nelson “Hammer” Beideman and Mad Scientist John Hoey, who was part of our highly migratory species (HMS) “posse” at the time.
My family supported Nelson’s efforts, and I was loaned out to Blue Water. I became one of the nails that Nelson used in his “tool belt of life” as the Hammer, and I became a close member of his family. I can close my eyes and bring back fond memories of those days and of the power meetings we had in the Blue Water gang – Nelson, Terri, John Hoey, Gail Johnson, and the others. We always wondered what our next step would be.
Lasting words
After I learned of his death, I googgled “Nelson Beideman,” not that this is any way to judge a man and his life. But more than 900 hits came up – his letters, newspaper articles, letters to regulators. I refreshed my mind on all the things Nelson had accomplished for the common good of us all.
The high point was the turtle project and the use of circle hooks, which got the fleet back fishing on the Grand Banks. It saved a species and an industry and gave us respect on all sides.
Nelson was one of the rare people who never put “winning” over anyone’s livelihood. He could walk in the other person’s shoes and understand how they felt. It was this uncommon gift in today’s world that allowed him to bring people together, even when they sat on opposite sides of the table. He’d find a common thread, and by the end, it would have grown into a banner of cooperation. He was a respected industry leader.
An irreplaceable man
Nelson had a drive for life. I would smile when I walked through his garden at his home in Barnegat Light –- Nelson with his many roses that took years of weeding, pruning, and love. It was a lot like what he did every day dealing with fisheries issues.
Many of us ask why we are put on this earth, and I believe that Nelson knew why, for he had a driven mission to change the world and make it a better place.
I guess I judge success in a person’s life as touching one life and making it better. Nelson touched mine and so many others around the world. He will be missed and irreplaceable in all ways known to man, yet he will never be forgotten.
Fate took Nelson away from us much too young. He was only 53. But now he has the ear of a higher power, whether it be for fishery management or world events. What he could not accomplish on earth will be seen in the heavens above, and humanity will continue to reap the benefit of Nelson’s efforts forever.
Larry Sylvia, formerly of Family (F & S) Fisheries Inc. in New Bedford, lives in Mattapoisett, MA. He is a past director and officer of Blue Water Fishermen’s Association.
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