Robert Dyer
Maine Coast Oral History Initiative
Through the support of the Maine Humanities Council and the Island Institute, the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association was able to collect hours of oral histories from fishermen throughout Maine.
Robert Dyer was born on August 4, 1931 on Chebeague Island in Casco Bay. He worked as a stop seiner, lobsterman and cannery worker for much of his life in the Portland and Casco Bay areas. He is a cousin of Bruce Dyer of Cliff Island who also sat for a recording. As of this interview in 2013, Robert was still living on Chebeague Island and in Yarmouth. Interview contains discussions of: stop seining, herring canneries, bait prices, sardine prices, locations for stop seining, whale encounters, life on Chebeague Island, purse seining, carriers, bailing and pumping herring. Robert Dyer’s interview is a rich description of the stop seine herring fishery that flourished in Southern and Mid-Coast Maine between the 1940s and the 1970s. He describes the processes by which they “shut off” coves and sold herring to canning companies in Maine and Canada.
This interview was produced with funding from the Maine Humanities Council.
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