NOAA

Interviewee Sort descending Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Alex Brown Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Alex Brown, twenty years old at the time of the interview, describes his life as a deckhand in Point Judith, RI. With the encouragement of a fisherman uncle, Alex has been fishing since he was 11 and has worked on various fishing boats, including lobster boats and draggers. He now works on lobster boats and draggers in Point Judith.

Sarah Schumann Point Judith, RI NOAA
Andrew Arnett Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Andrew Arnett, 26 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain of Jonah crab and scallop boats in New Bedford, MA. He has been fishing since age 16 and running boats since age 22. As one of the youngest captains in the fleet, he sees himself as one of a select few who are keeping fishing heritage alive.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann New Bedford, MA NOAA
Angela Sanfilippo Sector Management in New England

Angela Sanfilippo, 62, lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts and serves as the President of Gloucester's Fishermen's Wives. Her husband was a commercial fisherman who lost his boat due to a fire and now works for on a charter boat because they knew it'd be too risky to re-invest in fishing; she does have a brother and other family members that are involved in sectors. Mrs. Sanfilippo works very hard to assist with commercial fisheries, whether through helping fishermen gain health insurance or by working in the permit bank.

Azure Cygler Gloucester, MA NOAA
Annie Lee Thorpe Georgia Black Fishermen

Mrs. Annie Lee Thorpe was the seventh of eight children, born in 1923 in Mayport, Florida. Mrs. Thorpe recalls that her family structure changed when she was 12, after the death of her mother. She then moved to Savannah to live with her older sister; however, she was unable to complete her primary education due to her sister’s illness. Soon after, Mrs. Thorpe married James Joseph “Joe” Thorpe, one of the few African American shrimp boat captains in Savannah. They began their family in 1953 and had four children.

Monet Murphy Thunderbolt, GA NOAA, Savannah State University
Antonio Borges Portuguese-American Fishermen in New Bedford

This is one of a set of 15 oral histories with Portuguese immigrant fishermen who worked out of the port of New Bedford. The project was sponsored by a NOAA Preserve America grant. In this interview Antonio Borges talks about his long experience as a fisherman in Portugal and the U.S., including fishing techniques used in cod fishing in the Grand Banks, where he had to help sew a shroud to "bury" a co-worker who died at sea. He also describes social and cultural traditions in his native village as well New Bedford, including extensive views on religion.

M. Gloria De Sa New Bedford, MA University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, NOAA, Preserve America
António M. Palhais Portuguese-American Fishermen in New Bedford

This is one of a set of 15 oral histories with Portuguese immigrant fishermen who worked out of the port of New Bedford. The project was sponsored by a NOAA Preserve America grant. In this interview, Mr. Palhais talks about his life in a small fishing village in Portugal, how he came to the U.S. and his experience living and fishing in New Bedford. Included in his history is a very detailed description of fishing techniques in the mouth of the Mondego River in Figueira da Foz as well as salt-making techniques in the same area and in Angola.

M. Gloria De Sa New Bedford, MA University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, NOAA, Preserve America
Antonio Santos Portuguese-American Fishermen in New Bedford

This is one of a set of 15 oral histories with Portuguese immigrant fishermen who worked out of the port of New Bedford. The project was sponsored by a NOAA Preserve America grant. Maria Santos tells the story of her husband António Santos while he lies nearby, unable to tell his own story due to Alzheimer's disease. At times, their sons Mario and Joe Santos add details. António was born in 1929 in the fishing village of Gala, near the city of Figueira da Foz.

M. Gloria De Sa New Bedford, MA University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, NOAA, Preserve America
Brendan Damm Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Brendan Damm, 28 years old at the time of the interview, is a deckhand on lobster and gillnet boats in Montauk, NY. Despite growing up as the son of a fisherman, he never enjoyed fishing until he came back home from college with a new attitude and decided to make it his full-time occupation.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Montauk, NY NOAA
Carl Berg Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Carl Berg, 26 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain and deckhand on gillnet and crab boats in Sakonnet Point, RI and New Bedford, MA, as well as an oyster farmer and skiff owner-operator in the Sakonnet River. Carl did not grow up in a fishing family, but found his way to fishing as a summer job in high school, fishing full-time since finishing college.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Tiverton, RI NOAA
Carl Bouchard Sector Management in New England

Carl Bouchard, age 72, is a retired fisherman whose home port was Hampton, New Hampshire. Mr. Buchard began fishing around age 45 because he loved being outdoors, after transitioning from gas station and carwash owner to owner of his own boat doing inshore fisheries such as groundfishing, shrimping, tunafishing and lobstering. He had chosen to retire from fisheries the year sector management began, but had four permits in Sector 2. The year sectors started, he put his boat in the commonpool and leased quota from additional permits that he had purchased. Mr.

Azure Cygler Exeter, NH NOAA