Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

  • Collection DOI:
    Principal Investigator:
  • This project developed a participatory, place-based approach for assessing the vulnerability and resilience of Maine fishing communities, documenting threats and resources available to respond to those threats. To understand the forces driving vulnerability, Johnson and graduate students Cameron Thompson and Anna Henry worked with community stakeholders to identify opportunities and strategies for improving resilience of fishing communities. They produced a summary report, entitled, “In Their Own Words: Fishermen’s Perspectives of Community Resilience.” 

    Once upon a time, Maine fishermen and women harvested a diversity of species, from groundfish and herring to lobsters, clams, shrimp, and scallops, depending on market conditions and resource abundance. Today, Maine’s fishing culture is concentrated in 50 coastal communities and is overwhelmingly dependent on lobster, while regulations have restricted other fisheries. Since 1990, the number of vessels landing groundfish in Maine dropped from 350 to 70. At least 72 groundfish permits have been lost, and dramatic changes in management are imminent, leading Johnson to wonder, “How vulnerable are Maine’s fishing communities? What can be done to improve their resiliency to future change?”

    These are the questions that federal fisheries managers must ask when assessing the impact of new rules, yet too often they don’t have the right data to answer the questions. This project developed a participatory, place-based approach for assessing the vulnerability and resilience of Maine fishing communities, documenting threats and resources available to respond to those threats. To understand the forces driving vulnerability, Johnson and graduate students Cameron Thompson and Anna Henry worked with community stakeholders to identify opportunities and strategies for improving resilience of fishing communities.

Interviewee Collection Sort descending Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Howie Edwards Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Interview with Howie Edwards, who was born in Rockland, Maine. In this oral history interview, he describes changes in the community of Rockland as well as the canning industry.

Cameron Thompson Rockland, ME University of Maine
Clifford D. West Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Clifford D. West, born on December 23, 1942, in Steuben, is a seasoned commercial fisherman who began his career at the tender age of ten in 1954. He comes from a lineage of fishermen, with both his father and grandfather involved in the industry. Clifford's family, including his wife, who hails from a fishing family in Milbridge, has been instrumental in his fishing business. He has three children, none of whom are involved in fishing.

Sara Randall Steuben, ME University of Maine
Roger Freeman Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Interview with Rockland lobsterman Roger Freeman, born April 22,1949 in Rockland, ME. At the time of the interview, Mr. Freeman was still living in Rockland. The interview contains information about Mr. Freeman's career fishing for lobsters. He describes his entry into the lobster industry in 1973 and the changes that he witnessed in gear, species fluctuations, prices and regulations.

Cameron Thompson Rockland, ME University of Maine
Richard A. Whitman Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Interview with Richard Whitman, born 11/15/1962, in Rockland, Maine. Whitman discusses his experiences in the fishing industry, his background and changes in his coastal community.

Cameron Thompson Rockland, ME University of Maine
Edward French Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Edward French, born in 1959, is a lifelong resident of Eastport, Maine, with a deep-rooted history in commercial fishing. His first involvement in the industry was as a crew member on a herring carrier, and he later ventured into tub trawling and scalloping on his own during the summer and fall seasons. In addition to his hands-on experience in the fisheries, French has also covered the industry for the local newspaper, Quoddy Tides.

Anna Henry Eastport, ME University of Maine
John Williams Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Interview with fisherman John Williams.  In this interview, he discusses his career fishing for groundfish and lobsters out of Stonington, Maine.

Mike Kersula Stonington, ME University of Maine
Hugh French Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Hugh French is a lifelong resident of Eastport, Maine, who has witnessed the economic shifts in his community over the years. Although he was never directly involved in the fishing industry, he has a deep understanding of its impact on the local economy, particularly the rise and decline of the sardine industry and the increased dependence on lobstering. French is currently the Director of the Tides Institute, a position that allows him to observe and contribute to the community's development.

Anna Henry Eastport, ME University of Maine
Allison Wilson Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Allison Wilson Jr. was born in 1931, in Rockland. He has lived in Port Clyde, Maine, for almost eighty-one years, with twenty-four of those years spent in his current residence at 98 Horse Point Road. Wilson comes from a family with roots in Nova Scotia, with his ancestors having migrated to Port Clyde, where they built a log cabin before returning to Nova Scotia, and then coming back the following year. He estimates that he is the sixth or seventh generation of his family in the area.

Cameron Thompson Rockland, ME University of Maine
Eugene Greenlaw Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Eugene Greenlaw, born in 1949, is a lifelong resident of Lubec, Maine, with a brief period of service in the Navy. His first involvement in commercial fishing began with a job at a sardine factory in Lubec, where he worked for 31 years and eventually became the plant manager in 1998. Greenlaw has been commercially fishing for lobster since 1972 and has also fished for scallops, sea urchins, and herring at different times throughout his career.

Cameron Thompson Lubec, ME University of Maine
Russell Wright Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Russell Wright, born in 1960, is a lifelong resident of Lubec, Maine. He has been serving as a marine patrol officer since 1999. Prior to joining the Marine Patrol, Wright had a brief stint in the logging industry before returning to his roots in the fishing industry. He has three brothers who are actively involved in the fishing industry. Wright's decision to join the Marine Patrol was influenced by his love for water and dealing with people.

Anna Henry Lubec, ME University of Maine