Next New England

“He has no compunction about telling you how he’s screwing you,” is how one fisherman described the way the man known locally as “the Codfather” did business. This week, how one man gamed the system meant to keep New England fishing fair and sustainable. Plus, we talk gentrification in two very different Boston squares. And with the first hints of spring, we bring back the story of a grandma who conquered the Appalachian trail. Boats belonging to Carlos Rafael, AKA “the Codfather,” photographed in December 2016 in New Bedford, Mass. New Bedford, a historic whaling port, is now one of the most valuable fishing ports in the United States, with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of seafood brought in annually. Carlos Rafael, owner of Carlos Seafood and known as the “Codfather,” was one of the most successful commercial fishermen in New England. Photo by Tristan Spinksi for Mother Jones/FERN. Big Fish In Boston Federal court Thursday, Carlos Rafael, a man