Patrick Shepard works for the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries and was born in Stonington, ME. He talks about his experiences growing up in a fishing family and lobstering with his brother from a very young age. He also speaks about the changes he sees in his hometown and what the future of fishing in Maine might hold, particularly in finding ways to make more money from a smaller amount of high quality product.

Micah Woodcock, a wild seaweed harvester from Stonington, ME, speaks about the reality of the practical, personal, and community sides of harvesting wild seaweed. He discusses his experiences in Maine and his opinions of the future of the seaweed industry and the people influenced by this business.

Merritt Carey, from Tennent’s Harbor, ME, grew up summering in Maine and is now a key member of the Maine Aquaculture Co-op. In this interview, she recounts her experiences working Maine, including delivering lobster, being a crew member in the second all-female crew to participate in an around-the-world sailing race, and buying a wharf and forming the Maine Aquaculture Co-op. Her goal is to make sure that aquaculture money stays at the shore.

Marina Cucuzza, a marine researcher from Boston, MA, is currently working on her thesis which assesses the capacity for sustainability in coastal communities. She discusses buzz words such as resilience and sustainability which she finds important to define and what she has come across in her projects so far.

Marcia Beal Brazer, from Ogunquit, ME, shares a personal story about her husband Norman Brazer, a lobsterman, who got tangled in a lobster buoy rope and fell overboard while fishing near Boon Island, ME. N. Brazer was lucky that he was carrying a knife and was able to untangle himself; however, when he surfaced, he could not find his boat. Luckily, another lobsterman, Mark Sewell, noticed N. Brazer’s body floating and took him to the hospital. After three rounds of CPR, N. Brazer finally responded. He is still a lobsterman. M.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.