Mrs. Cassie Williams, a native of Thunderbolt, Georgia—a small community five miles southeast of Savannah in Chatham County, was born in 1934 and was the youngest of eight children. After completing six years of school in Savannah, she traveled to New York to finish her education, but had to return before graduation to take care of her father. Mrs. Williams grew up surrounded by a fishing community, where she and her husband of 53 years raised their children and grandchildren in the house he built.  Throughout her life, Mrs.

Charles Hall was born in 1934 on Sapelo Island, Georgia—a small Gullah Geechee community founded on the fourth largest barrier island in the 1700s, 60 miles south of Savannah, in McIntosh County. Mr. Hall earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Morehouse College in Georgia and Physical Therapy certification from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. He worked as a physical therapist in Ohio until his retirement. Along with service in the United States Air Force, Mr. Hall served in prominent positions within community organizations in Ohio before moving back to Georgia.

Mr. Charles Murray grew up in Savannah, Georgia surrounded by a fishing community his entire life. He learned the trade, which he found easy, from his father who was a commercial shrimper and was the first African American in Thunderbolt to own his own boat. Coastal Georgia was the epicenter for shrimping and was where he, his father, and two brothers made their living. Mr. Murray was one of 10 children and joined his father’s business at the age of 16; he married twice and had children and lived his entire life in Savannah.

Charles Borden, 33, is a commercial fisherman out of Westport, Massachusetts. Mr. Borden?s father works in fisheries management, though he does not have family history in commercial fishing, he began fishing at age 14 on a skiff and worked his way up to become a captain on his own vessel in Westport, Massachusetts. For the past 3 years, he has fished predominantly for monkfish in the inshore and offshore, depending on the season.

Christine Sherman, 60, lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts and is married to a commercial fisherman that is a member of Sector 2. Mrs. Sherman also works for the Northeast Seafood Coalition, an industry advocacy group based in Gloucester and is primarily in charge of fundraising for the group. Mrs. Sherman has felt a huge impact from sectors and feels there is only a few years left for a viable, small boat commercial fishery in Gloucester. She has seen the impacts in her own family and life, having experienced physical and mental issues related to financial stress in an uncertain industry.

Christine Sykes, 60, is the wife of commercial fisherman Rodman Sykes who fishes out of Point Judith, RI. Though she is not from a fishing family, her husband is and has been fishing since he was 17, working with his grandfather. He currently targets finfish, especially yellowtail and codfish, and sometimes squid. He is a sector member. Mrs. Sykes believes that increased regulations, including those related to sectors, lead to more stress, often with respect to heavy observer coverage on the vessel.

Chris Hickman, 63, is a commercial fisherman out of Hatteras, North Carolina. Mr. Hickman began fishing in the 1970's after retiring from farming; his grandfather was a fisherman in the early 1900's. He currently fishes for monkfish and a variety of other species using a gillnet inshore along the east coast in New England. Mr. Hickman has been in the commonpool in New England since sectors began; sector management is not in place in North Carolina. He feels that sector management is not the right management strategy and would abolish it given the opportunity.

Christopher Knight, 27 years old at the time of the interview, is a lobster boat deckhand in Matinicus and Spruce Head, ME. As a son and grandson of fishermen, he started fishing in the single digits. Unfortunately, a house fire destroyed the documentation of his student lobstering hours just before he turned eighteen, putting a fulltime commercial lobster license out of reach for him. Despite this setback, Christopher has continued to work as a fulltime fisherman.

Chris Brown, 53, is a commercial fisherman out of Point Judith, Rhode Island. He began fishing after high school and built a boat for himself two years later. Currently, he fishes inshore for groundfish and squid predominantly. Mr. Brown is the president of Sector 5 and is very active in sector management and fisheries in general. He is very hopeful about sector management and believes that, given the opportunity, it will be the best strategy to manage the fisheries and provide livelihood for fishermen.

Mrs. Cornelia Walker Bailey, a prominent historian on Sapelo Island—Georgia’s fourth largest barrier island only accessible by ferry, boat, or plane—was born on June 12, 1945. Mrs. Bailey’s family tree and presence on the island is well documented and can be traced back to her ancestors who purchased the island after the end of slavery. Mrs.