Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

  • Collection DOI:
    Principal Investigator:
    Natalie Springuel
  • Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2018 is a project of Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, and the Island Institute, with support from the Maine Fishermen’s Forum Board of Directors.

Interviewee Sort descending Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
David Myslabodski Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

David Myslabodski, who was born in Mexico, lived in Israel, and is currently living in Rockland, ME, is a seaweed consultant. He describes his efforts to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of growing and processing seaweeds and speaks in detail about the economy, demand, production, and tensions in and around the seaweed industry in Maine.

Galen Koch Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
David, Cynthia, and Emily Thomas Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

David, Cynthia, and Emily Thomas are from Islesford, Cranberry Islands, ME. David is a retired school teacher and lobsterman, Cynthia works at the island library, and their daughter Emily attended college and now works in Nova Scotia, CA, though she grew up on the Cranberry Islands. They speak about the diversification of Islesford, temperature impacting the location of lobsters, and changes in island life, such as setting up reliable internet service but losing the island store.

Matt Frassica, Teagan White Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Donald Wagner Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

John McMillan, the owner of McMillan Offshore Survival Training and resident of Belfast, ME, and Don Wagner, one of his employees, offer the Drill Conductor Course to lobstermen. Both focus on the importance of safety training in the lobster industry and include stories of the gratitude people have expressed at knowing what to do in emergency situations, particularly when their training was able to save multiple lives.

Matt Frassica, Kaitlyn Clark Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Frank Heller Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Frank Heller and Jack Collins, two friends and prospective aquaculturists from Brunswick, ME, share anecdotes from their life including how Heller broke his leg while walking on Popham Beach, was treated by the same doctor as Stephen King, and few years later, broke his wrist in the same location as the leg. Both men are interested in organic ocean farming and discuss the information they learned at the Forum about oyster aquaculture and seasteads.

Galen Koch, Teagan White Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Glenn Robbins Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Glenn Robbins is a herring and lobster fisherman out of Rockland, ME. He has extensive experience on the sea as he started fishing when he was 12 years old. He compares purse seining and trawling and talks about their effects on marine ecosystems. Robbins also speaks about the changes, as well as the rises and falls, in the fisheries over the past 60 years. Robbins emphasizes how important it is to fish sustainably and protect fishing grounds.

Natalie Springuel Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Jack Collins Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Frank Heller and Jack Collins, two friends and prospective aquaculturists from Brunswick, ME, share anecdotes from their life including how Heller broke his leg while walking on Popham Beach, was treated by the same doctor as Stephen King, and few years later, broke his wrist in the same location as the leg. Both men are interested in organic ocean farming and discuss the information they learned at the Forum about oyster aquaculture and seasteads.

Galen Koch, Teagan White Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
John McMillan Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

John McMillan, the owner of McMillan Offshore Survival Training and resident of Belfast, ME, and Don Wagner, one of his employees, offer the Drill Conductor Course to lobstermen. Both focus on the importance of safety training in the lobster industry and include stories of the gratitude people have expressed at knowing what to do in emergency situations, particularly when their training was able to save multiple lives.

Matt Frassica, Kaitlyn Clark Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
John Peabody Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

John Peabody is an offshore lobsterman, although he maintains licenses for many species, out of Point Judith, RI. He is an owner/operator of a boat that goes out on multi-day fishing trips. He focuses heavily on the importance of fishing for a diversity of species and his frustration with there being too many regulations and too much paperwork to maintain each permit. He also speaks about his satisfaction in proving scientists wrong when they are not willing to listen to fishermen’s observations.

Galen Koch, Kaitlyn Clark Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Krista Tripp Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Krista Tripp, a lobsterman from Spruce Head, ME, speaks about her childhood experiences fishing, going through the lobster apprenticeship program, and how her grandfather supported her desire to become a lobsterman. She addresses the realities of being a new, late, and female fisherman in this area and expresses her excitement at seeing more women on the water.

Matt Frassica, Teagan White Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Leif Albertson Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Leif Albertson is an IT project manager residing in Phippsburg, Maine. His family has a deep-rooted history in commercial fishing in Maine, which influenced his decision to relocate his family to Maine. Albertson is an avid recreational fisherman and owns a fishing boat, which was a gift from his father. He is involved in recreational lobster fishing and holds a commercial license for tuna fishing. Albertson's family members, including cousins, are involved in lobster and shrimp fishing.

Matt Frassica, Kaitlyn Clark Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute