Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

  • Collection DOI:
    Principal Investigator:
    Patricia Clay, Lisa L. Colburn
  • 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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Interviewee Collection Sort descending Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Tommy Testaverde Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Tommy Testaverde, 34 years old at the time of the interview, is captain of his family's dragger, the F/V Midnight Sun, in Gloucester, MA.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Gloucester, MA NOAA
Andrew Arnett Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Andrew Arnett, 26 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain of Jonah crab and scallop boats in New Bedford, MA. He has been fishing since age 16 and running boats since age 22. As one of the youngest captains in the fleet, he sees himself as one of a select few who are keeping fishing heritage alive.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann New Bedford, MA NOAA
Ken Murgo Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Ken Murgo, 31 years old at the time of his interview, is a diversified fisherman in Narragansett Bay, RI. With his father, Ken fishes for conchs, lobsters, quahogs, and a variety of different finfish on the F/V Johnny B. In his interview, he talks about his parents' expectations that he would enter medical school after college, his inevitable return to full-time fishing in spite of these expectations, and the interest he feels in fisheries science and cooperative research.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Narragansett, RI NOAA
Tori Thomas Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Tori Thomas, 29 years old at the time of the interview, is a deckhand in Point Judith, RI. Despite growing up far from the coast with no exposure to fisheries, she got a job as a fisheries observer after college, and then decided to try her luck as a deckhand.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Narragansett, RI NOAA
Brendan Damm Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Brendan Damm, 28 years old at the time of the interview, is a deckhand on lobster and gillnet boats in Montauk, NY. Despite growing up as the son of a fisherman, he never enjoyed fishing until he came back home from college with a new attitude and decided to make it his full-time occupation.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Montauk, NY NOAA
Lenny Russo Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Lenny Russo, 27 years old at the time of his interview, describes working as the relief captain of a fleet boat in Portland, ME, after growing up working on a family fishing boat in Gloucester MA. Lenny is also the owner-operator of a seasonal salmon gillnet vessel in Bristol Bay, AK. 

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Gloucester, MA NOAA
Tyler Chadwick Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Tyler Chadwick, 22 years old at the time of the interview, is a waterman in Newport, NC and co-owner of Chadwick's Seafood, a business that focuses on providing fresh North Carolina seafood to customers.. Tyler and his best friend got into fishing together in their teens, and have continued fishing and marketing their catch together ever since.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Newport, NC NOAA
Carl Berg Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Carl Berg, 26 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain and deckhand on gillnet and crab boats in Sakonnet Point, RI and New Bedford, MA, as well as an oyster farmer and skiff owner-operator in the Sakonnet River. Carl did not grow up in a fishing family, but found his way to fishing as a summer job in high school, fishing full-time since finishing college.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Tiverton, RI NOAA
Lyle Peele Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Lyle Peele, 29 years old at the time of the interview, is a fifth generation waterman in Manteo, NC. Lyle and his family have seen the industry change, and his feelings about it are complex. He owns three boats and has diversified his fishing methods to adapt to changing conditions.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Manteo, NC NOAA
Zack Davis Young Fishermen in the Northeast United States

Zack Davis, 35 years old at the time of the interview, is a shrimp fisherman, high school shop teacher, and net maker in Marshallberg, NC.

Scope and Content Note

Sarah Schumann Marshallberg, NC NOAA