NOAA Preserve America Initiative

Interviewee Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Wassiliisa "Deedee" Bennis Women in Alaska Fisheries

Wassiliisa (Deedee) lives in Dillingham, Alaska and is the Chief Administrative Officer at Bristol Bay Native Association, where she has worked for over forty years. In this interview Deedee describes how she grew up fishing with her father, who was a commercial fisherman, and how she values family engagement in the fishery.

Kim Sparks , Jean Lee, Christopher Maines Dillingham, AK Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center , Bristol Bay Native Association , NOAA Preserve America Initiative
Gayla Hoseth Women in Alaska Fisheries

Gayla Hoseth is Director of the Natural Resources Program at Bristol Bay Native Association and currently serves as the Second Chief to the Curying Tribal Council. She spent summers during her childhood putting up fish with her grandmother in Bristol Bay. In this interview Gayla talks about learning to set net fish for salmon with her grandmother and carrying on these practices with her sisters and younger generations of her family. She also discusses the importance of fighting to protect and maintain the traditional Native way of life.

Kim Sparks , Anna Lavoie, Jean Lee, Kitty Sopow, Sean Day Dillingham, AK Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center , Bristol Bay Native Association , NOAA Preserve America Initiative
Alannah Hurley Women in Alaska Fisheries

Alannah Hurley is the Executive Director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay in Alaska. She is a Yupik fisherwoman of salmon for subsistence and commercial purposes. She discusses her heritage and how she learned to fish as a child, and historical socio-cultural processes of the Bristol Bay region. She also discusses her experience and knowledge of climate change and the challenges Yupik people face in regard to climate change and their struggle to maintain their identity, culture, and relationship with the environment.

Anna Lavoie, Jean Lee, Kim Sparks , Kitty Sopow, Sean Day Dillingham, AK Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center , Bristol Bay Native Association , NOAA Preserve America Initiative
June Ingram Women in Alaska Fisheries

June Ingram is an elder Yupik fisherwoman from Bristol Bay, Alaska. She has fished salmon (subsistence and commercial) at her family's fish camp site, which has been in her family since the 1940's. In the interview June describes what it's like to fish with multiple generations of her family and how she passes on values and lessons to younger generations through salmon fishing practices. She also discusses her experience of environmental change.

Anna Lavoie, Kitty Sopow Dillingham, AK Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center , Bristol Bay Native Association , NOAA Preserve America Initiative
Simuka Smith Women in Alaska Fisheries

Simuka Smith is a fisherwoman living in Dillingham Alaska who has participated in subsistence and commercial fishing for the past two decades. She is a retired commercial fisherwoman and skilled in many trades. She talks about her experiences and adventures commercial and subsistence fishing, and moose hunting as well as her overall life in Bristol Bay. This interview is part of the Alaska Native Fisherwomen of Bristol Bay oral history project, a partnership between NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center and Bristol Bay Native Association.

Anna Lavoie, Jean Lee, Kim Sparks , Kitty Sopow Dillingham, AK Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center , Bristol Bay Native Association , NOAA Preserve America Initiative
Connie Timmerman Women in Alaska Fisheries

Connie Timmerman is a Native fisherwoman of Bristol Bay Alaska who has fished for decades including salmon for subsistence. She discusses her heritage and how she learned to fish as a young woman, and fishing activities with her family. She emphasizes how women, such as herself and daughters, must be skilled for the local lifestyle of fishing and hunting, and the values of family working together. Her bear dog, Maggie, makes an appearance at the end of the interview.

Anna Lavoie, Jean Lee Dillingham, AK Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center , Bristol Bay Native Association , NOAA Preserve America Initiative
Shey Conover Voices from the Working Waterfront Oral History Project

Biographical Note:
Shey Conover is the Chief Operating Officer at the Island Institute in Rockland, Maine. She was born on March 5, 1980.

Julia Beaty Rockland, ME National Working Waterfront Network, National Sea Grant Law Center, NOAA Office of Coastal Management, Maine Sea Grant College Program, NOAA Preserve America Initiative
Julie Keene Maine Sea Grant Alewife and Eel Oral Histories

In this interview, Lubec elver harvester Julie Keene discusses the elver fishery, competition with indigenous people, the demise of the urchin fishery and current regulations.

Julia Beaty Lubec, ME NOAA Preserve America Initiative, Maine Sea Grant
Randy Bushey Maine Sea Grant Alewife and Eel Oral Histories

Randy Bushey, an elver buyer and fisherman, describes his role in the industry and the politics of elver fishing in Downeast Maine. The interview includes opinions on federal regulations, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and eel behavior and biology. Bushey discusses his attempts to import eels from Caribbean island nations.

Julia Beaty Steuben, ME NOAA Preserve America Initiative, Maine Sea Grant
Rick Welch Maine Sea Grant Alewife and Eel Oral Histories

In this interview, alewife harvester Rick Welch reflects on the Downeast Maine alewife fishery. The interview contains his thoughts on the effects of dams, the desirability of alewives as lobster bait and the difference between alewives and blueback herring.

Julia Beaty Ellsworth, ME NOAA Preserve America Initiative, Maine Sea Grant