NOAA-NMFS

Interviewee Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Walter Eley Ross, Sr. Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Walter Eley Ross Sr. is a retired commercial fisherman on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  He was born on March 16, 1924, in Biloxi, Mississippi,to Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Ross. His father was a commercial fisherman, house builder, and boat builder. His mother was a housewife. Mr. Ross began fishing with his father commercially when he was a teenager, and he continued in that profession for fifty-three years. Ross also served in the US Air Force, achieving the rank of sergeant. He is a Catholic.

 Barbara Hester Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Norman Yandell Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Norman Yandell is a resident of Long Beach, Mississippi, a net-maker, creator of Norm Bait handmade lures, and a lifelong fisherman on the Gulf Coast. Yandell was born on August 12, 1934, in Gladewater, Texas, to Jessie Andrew Yandell and Minnie Quave Yandell (born December 25, 1918, in Poplarville, Mississippi). Yandell moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a young boy, residing with his mother and his stepfather Earl Holley (born January 1, 1916).

 Stephanie Scull-DeArmey Long Beach, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
John Philip Falterman, Jr. Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Captain John Philip Falterman Jr. is owner-operator of Therapy Charters LLC, of Slidell, Louisiana, specializing in inland fishing in Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne, and the Biloxi Marsh.  Mr. Falterman was born November 25, 1974, in Fairbanks, Alaska, to Mr. John P. Falterman Sr. (born September 29, 1952, in New Orleans, Louisiana) and Mrs. Deborah Bays Falterman (born October 17, 1952, in New Orleans, Louisiana). His father is the owner of Johnny’s Welding Service in Kenner, Louisiana.

 Stephanie Scull-DeArmey Slidell, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Cui Nguyen Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Cui Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in East Biloxi, Mississippi. Nguyen was born in 1954, one of seven children, in the city of Rach Gia in the Kien Giang Province of South Vietnam. His father, Ngoc Van Nguyen, was a fisherman. His mother, Kau Thi Nguyen, farmed rice. They all worked together to fish and sell at the local market. In 1972 Mr. Nguyen served in his town in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army). In 1981 Mr.

 Linda VanZandt, Angel Truong Phan East Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Larry Ryan Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Larry Ryan, a Pascagoula fisherman, discusses his career mullet-fishing, shrimping, oystering, and crabbing.

 Stephanie Scull-DeArmey Moss Point, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Milton Zirlott Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Milton Zirlott is a retired commercial fisherman on the Gulf Coast. Zirlott was born on December 29, 1925, to Ellis Zirlott (born 1898 in Fowl River, Alabama) and Nittie Rhodes Zirlott (born around 1906 in Bayou LaBatre, Alabama). His father was a commercial shrimp fisherman and a boat-builder. His mother’s father was a net-maker. Zirlott went to school at Alba in Bayou LaBatre, Alabama. He had one brother, Robert Zirlott.

 Barbara Hester Bayou LaBatre, AL NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Hilton Floyd Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Hilton Floyd is a lifelong fisherman on the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mr. Hilton Floyd was born on September 15, 1956, in Jacksonville, Florida, to Mr. Hilton Floyd Sr. (born in Mayport, Florida) and Mrs. Helen Cooper Floyd (born in Mayport, Florida). His siblings are two older brothers, three older sisters, and one younger sister. Floyd’s mother was a schoolteacher, and his paternal grandfather was a dredge boat operator. His mother’s family were shrimpers. He is married to Rhonda Olier Floyd (born November 7, 1956, in South Korea).

 Barbara Hester Pascagoula, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Daniel Nguyen Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Daniel Nguyen is the environmental justice coordinator for the Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation in New Orleans Versailles Community. He also currently serves as the project manager for the Viet Village Urban Farm and Sustainable Aquaculture Park, managing daily activities and helping to organize community fisherfolk and gardeners in a cooperative effort to market their goods to local New Orleans restaurants.

 Linda VanZandt New Orleans, LA NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Oscar Sanzin Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Oscar Sanzin was born October 15, 1925, in Yugoslavia. When he was thirteen years old, the Nazis overran his hometown in Yugoslavia, destroying the town and killing its occupants. Sanzin escaped and served in the Resistance. He was later a prisoner of war in Germany, and he was taken to Africa in the hold of a ship as a slave laborer. He was liberated by the Americans, and he immigrated to the United States where he became a commercial fishermen on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. On June 22, 1950, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, he married Helen Martin (born July 12, 1930).

 Barbara Hester Gulfport, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Peter S. Floyd Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Peter Floyd was born in Mayport, Florida, and has spent his career as a commercial fisherman in Pascagoula Mississippi.

 Barbara Hester, Louis Kyriakoudes Pascagoula, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
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