Alex Brown
Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States
Interviews with 39 fishers between the ages of 18-35, located along the US East Coast from Maine to North Carolina. Collectively, they represent a wide variety of gear types and fisheries. All had been fishing full-time for at least two years and wanted to make fishing their career. They describe motivations for choosing a fishing career, strategies used, barriers encountered, and facilitating factors that have enabled interviewees to defy the graying trend to become successful fishermen.
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Sarah Schumann
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.
Scope and Content Note
Alex discusses his experiences as a full-time commercial fisherman. He discusses several barriers and challenges faced by young people trying to enter the fishing industry. He highlights the lack of patience among older mentors, making it difficult for young individuals to adjust to such attitudes. Alex also touches on the ecological changes affecting the industry, such as changes in water temperature and the migration of certain species, which impact lobstering in particular. He expresses concern about the future of lobstering in his area due to these environmental factors. As a young fisherman and a single parent, Alex emphasizes the financial challenges he faces, especially with the rising costs of raising a child. He acknowledges the need for more funding and support for programs that introduce young people to fishing as a career option, as he believes better exposure and understanding of the industry could attract more young individuals to pursue it.
Reflecting on the so-called "graying of the fleet" trend, Alex says, "All around there’s not that many young guys in this area that fish. I know a few men and women that fish. But it’s not nearly as many as I would like to see. It’s kind of depressing almost, seeing the lack of young people in the industry. It kind of makes me a little sad that there’s not a whole lot of people left in this world that enjoy what I do." To reverse this trend, he sees value in expanding the availability of fisherman training programs and improving public awareness about commercial fishing. In his interview, he talks about learning deckhand skills, the camaraderie he feels with older fishermen, and the importance of having a strong work ethic to succeed in fishing - a trait that he feels is lacking in many people his age.
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