Blessing of Fleet honors hard work of fishing crews

" An annual tribute to the lives – those past and present – of commercial fishermen focused on faith, hope and love.

With the wind and rain whipping outside, a crowd of nearly 1,000 amassed in a warehouse Sunday at the N.C. Port of Morehead City to pay tribute to the industry during the Blessing of the Fleet.

The religious ceremony puts a fitting bookend on the N.C. Seafood Festival – a reminder of who harvested the bounty served, and the danger that goes along with it."