Amanda Wright

Amanda Wright Image
Location of Interview
Collection Name

The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Description

This project documents the history and culture of the commercial fishing industry and other port trades. The project began in 2004 in conjunction with the Working Waterfront Festival, an annual, educational celebration of commercial fishing culture which takes place in New Bedford, MA. Interviewees have included a wide range of individuals connected to the commercial fishing industry and/or other aspects of the port through work or familial ties. While the majority of interviewees are from the port of New Bedford, the project has also documented numerous individuals  from other ports around the country. Folklorist and Festival Director Laura Orleans and Community Scholar and Associate Director Kirsten Bendiksen are project leaders. The original recordings reside at the National Council for the Traditional Arts in Maryland with listening copies housed at the Festival's New Bedford office.

Date of Interview
09-24-2006
Transcribers

Sarah Smith

Supplemental Material
Abstract

On September 24, 2006 Janice Gadaire Fleuriel interviewed Amanda Wright as part of The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project.  Amanda Wright is a seasoned lobster sternman, and she shares her experiences and insights of 22 years in the fishing industry.  Amanda studied art and pottery, and she describes moving and setting up a studio in Provincetown.  To make ends meet, she started working for local scallopers opening scallops beyond the breakwater.  She became interested in trapping after her work with the Shellfish Department in Wellfleet, where she trapped predators of oysters and clams, like green crabs and horseshoe crabs.  Amanda describes her eventual transition into lobstering, the challenges and rewards of the trade, and the physical demands of working with lobster traps.  She recites a poem she wrote about her love and respect for tomcod and talks about the beautiful things she’s seen as part of her work.  Amanda also speaks about potential industry changes, including the proposal of privatization, and says she hopes people learn that “this is our livelihood and our life, that we have respect for the environment, that we embrace the environment, that we are part of the environment every day.  For them to realize, when they buy a piece of fish in the marketplace, that was hard earned.”


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