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.

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.

Wayne Davis is a commercial lobsterman from Tremont, Maine. Wayne Davis was interviewed to capture his family’s experience using the Maine Working Waterfront Access Protection Plan (WWAPP) to secure the Davis wharf’s future as a commercial fishing pier in perpetuity. Mr. Davis describes the important history of the Davis wharf to that region of Mount Desert Island and how, in the late 2000’s, the effects of the lobster price collapse due to the recession triggered extreme pressure on the family to sell. Mr.

Elver harvester William Milliken of Maine describes in this interview the process of fishing for elvers using dip and fyke nets. Having been active in the fishery since 1992, Milliken offers perspectives on ASMFC management and current threats to the elver population.

Biographical Note:
William “Bill” Needelman is the Waterfront Coordinator for the City of Portland, Maine. He was born in Portland, Maine on April 3, 1964.