Jake Griffin, 27 years old at the time of the interview, is a North Carolina fisherman specializing in niche fisheries such as shark fishing and the haul seine fishery (a traditional method of fishing from the beach with a skiff and a truck). Located at an ecological boundary, he targets various populations of sharks as they migrate down from the North and up from the South throughout the year. Jake's biggest worry is that public misunderstanding about the shark fishery will lead to management measures that shut him out of the fisheries he has invested in.

Jim Keding is a 42-year-old fisherman; he currently captains a commercial fishing vessel out of Plymouth, Massachusetts. This vessel, the Mystic, fishes inshore for groundfish and is in sector 10. Jim serves as the sector's Vice President. He began fishing at age 14, in 1987; he chose fishing simply because he lived near the Plymouth fishing docks, and his cousin was the only one who fished in his family. Prior to captaining the Mystic, he owned and operated his own vessels.

James Leonard, 34 years old at the time of the interview, is the owner-operator of the F/V Briana James, an inshore dragger in Point Judith, RI. James comes from a fishing family and spent his twenties working on large offshore freezer vessels to save money. Then, with indispensable moral support from his wife and the boat-building expertise of his extended family, he brought a boat down from Nova Scotia and spent over a year rebuilding it for dragging in Rhode Island.

Scope and Content Note

James Reilly, 33 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain of a clam vessel based out of Oceanside, NY and Atlantic City, NJ. James grew up on Long Island as the son of a fisherman, and despite discouragement from his mother, he wound up working as crew for his father and then taking over his father's captain job when his father retired. He operates the fishing vessel Ocean Girl, targeting surf clams and ocean quahogs with hydraulic dredges. 

Jared Bennett, 29 years old at the time of the interview, is owner-operator of the F/V White Cap, a gillnet vessel, with his younger brother and a friend, going on 36-hour fishing trips targeting monkfish, skates, and dogfish out of Chatham and Harwichport, MA. Jared bought his gillnet license and started fishing without any prior experience as a deckhand. 

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. Testa talks about his life prior to coming to the U.S., including fishing, social and religious traditions. Part of that description, includes his tuna-fishing experience in North Africa, and cod-fishing in the Grand Banks during the World War II. He also describes what brought him to the U.S.

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 João Fernandes describes his childhood in Portugal as the son of a fisherman, his training to work in the same profession as his father and how he came to Louisiana to work in the shrimp fisheries with other Portuguese immigrants.

Joe Kowalsky, 31 years old at the time of the interview, is an oyster farmer and fishermen in Milford, Bridgeport, and Stratford, CT. He owns and operates multiple boats, including the Sea Skimmer, LeClair, Mohawk, and a Carolina skiff. Joe is primarily focused on oyster farming but also engages in wild fisheries for additional income. He found his way to fishing after putting aside societal notions that there is no money to be made on the water.

John Curzake, 48, is a commercial fisherman out of Point Judith, Rhode Island. He has been fishing since high school on a swordfishing boat with his in-laws; though his immediate family didn?t fish commercially, his father and brother occasionally go commercial lobstering. He fishes for skates and some groundfish, mostly inshore. He became a member of sector 13 to avoid gear restrictions placed on individuals in the common pool. Mr. Curzake does not like sector management and would prefer to return to Days-at-Sea, with at least 50 days per vessel per year.

Jeff Good, a 54-year-old fisherman from Plymouth, Massachusetts, has been fishing since he was 16 years old, beginning on a boat originally purchased by his older brother. In the years since, he has done all types of fishing including inshore and offshore fishing in most all fisheries except lobster and he hasn't done hook fishing. He currently fishes without any crew and feels this is the only way he can make it financially. Mr.