NOAA Preserve America Initiative

Interviewee Sort ascending Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Jake Southerland Maine Sea Grant Alewife and Eel Oral Histories

Jake Southerland is an alewife harvester in Orland, ME. In this interview, he describes the process of catching alewives, the differences between alewives and blueback herring, and the importance of the fishery to the lobster industry.

Julia Beaty Orland, ME NOAA Preserve America Initiative, Maine Sea Grant
Hugh Akagi Maine Sea Grant Alewife and Eel Oral Histories

Hugh Akagi is the chief of the Passamaquoddy on the Canadian side of the border. He lives in Canada and is deeply connected to his family and relatives on the reserve. Akagi is committed to preserving cultural heritage and advocating for the rights of Indigenous fishers. He has a background in fisheries research and has participated in Species at Risk talks and aboriginal advisory committees, demonstrating his dedication to protecting the natural environment and its species.

Julia Beaty Pleasant Point, ME NOAA Preserve America Initiative, Maine Sea Grant
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
Esther Ilutsik Women in Alaska Fisheries

Esther Ilutsik is the Director for Yup’ik Studies for the Southwest Region Schools in Dillingham, Alaska. She learned to set net fish as a child and commercial fished throughout her life at her family’s fish camp in Ekuk. In this interview Esther recounts her experiences of fishing with her mother and the social and environmental changes she has observed in Ekuk.

Anna Lavoie, 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
Ed Bassett Maine Sea Grant Alewife and Eel Oral Histories

Ed Bassett describes in this interview the importance of alewives to the Passamaquoddy tribe in Downeast Maine. The interview contains his recollections of how the marine ecosystem appeared to prior generations and the challenges facing alewives right now.

Julia Beaty Perry, ME NOAA Preserve America Initiative, Maine Sea Grant
Darrell Young Maine Sea Grant Alewife and Eel Oral Histories

In this interview, alewife fisherman Darrell Young describes the Maine alewife fishery and some of the environmental challenges that this anadromous species faces.

Julia Beaty Franklin, ME NOAA Preserve America Initiative, Maine Sea Grant
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
Charlie Albertson Voices from the Working Waterfront Oral History Project

Charlie Albertson, born in 1932, is a former North Carolina Senator from Beaulaville, North Carolina. He grew up on a farm in Eastern Duplin County during the Great Depression, where he learned farming chores and purchased his first guitar at the age of 11. His interest in public service was influenced by his father's involvement in the community, serving on the School Board in Duplin County.

Barbara Garrity-Blake Beaulaville, NC National Working Waterfront Network, National Sea Grant Law Center, NOAA Office of Coastal Management, Maine Sea Grant College Program, NOAA Preserve America Initiative
Carol Ann Hester, Meg Anna Schlais and Elizabeth Hester Women in Alaska Fisheries

CarolAnn Hester, MegAnna Schlais, and Elizabeth Hester represent three generations of women fishing in Naknek, Alaska. CarolAnn and MegAnna are a mother/daughter team who commercially fish, and all three women participate in subsistence fishing.  In this interview, CarolAnn, MegAnna and Elizabeth talk about how they got started in fishing, the products they produce and their participation in the subsistence lifestyle, which includes gardening. They also talk about their strong work ethic, and what motivates them to fish.

Kim Sparks , JudyJo Matson Nakenk, AK Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Bristol Bay Native Association , NOAA Preserve America Initiative
Carla Harris and Judy Jo Matson Women in Alaska Fisheries

JudyJo Matson and Carla Harris are a feisty mother/daughter duo; JudyJo commercially set nets while her mother Carla primarily fishes for subsistence. JudyJo begins the interview by talking about her experiences commercial fishing as a woman. She talks about her commercial site at Graveyard Point in the Kvichak River, as well what drives her to fish. JudyJo also addresses environmental changes and her childhood fishing experiences.

Kim Sparks , Kitty Sopow Nakenk, AK Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center , Bristol Bay Native Association , NOAA Preserve America Initiative