The Fisheries Reform Act is the most significant fisheries legislation in NC history. 

In 1994, the North Carolina General Assembly approved a moratorium on the sale of new commercial fishing licenses and established the 19-member Fisheries Moratorium Steering Committee to oversee a study of the state's entire coastal fisheries management process and to recommend changes to improve that process.  The Moratorium Steering Committee included legislators, fisheries managers, scientists, commercial fishermen, and recreational fishermen. The committee commissioned six research studies and reviewed a broad range of issues, including fishing licenses, fishing gear, habitat protection, agency organization, and law enforcement.  The committee issued a draft report in the late summer of 1996, held 19 public meetings across the state, and adopted a final report in October 1996 that formed the basis for the Fisheries Reform Act.   Governor James B. Hunt signed the Act into law on August 14, 1997.

The 1997 North Carolina Fisheries Reform Act: An Oral History Perspective was made possible by the North Carolina Sea Grant Community Collaborative Research Grant Program.

This collection was created during the 2017-2018 red tide event that had major ecosystem impacts on the west coast of Florida. Fish harvesters and related businesses suffered major setbacks during this time. Fishers, with a long history on the water and oftentimes second or third generation involved in the fishing business, reminisce about how the ecosystem has changed during their and their families time and the red tides they have witnessed. The collection provides information on species affected, specific areas affected, as well as discussions related to adaptation behaviors and specific business impacts.

This project, a case study of Hawaii's social history, focuses on Kona where people nurtured the development of a community and participated in and witnessed some.of the major historical developments of the islands. 

Interviews with residents of Aala Park, Hawaii, sharing first hand accounts of A'ala Rengo, which served as the center of the Japanese retail community in the 1930s and '40s. 

For 40 years, fisheries observers have sailed with New England fishermen, documenting catches and practices. Despite being outsiders, they offer a unique perspective on fisheries management. They work with various gear types, from trawls to lobster pots, covering a wide range of species. In a month, they travel from Maine to North Carolina, meeting diverse crews from around the world. This project shares their untold stories, shedding light on the fishing industry from a different angle.

In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of theAmerican Meteorological Society, interviews were conducted with its many members and leaders.  These interviews serve to recognize the strength, diversity, and accomplishments of the AMS community, from the beginning right up to today.

For more information, visit: ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams100/oral-histories/

The American Meteorological Society Oral History Project (AMSOHP) aims to capture the history of the atmospheric sciences as told by scientists, administrators, and others working in the field. The collection is especially rich in interviews that capture the memories of scientists who launched much of the innovative meteorological research in post-war America.

To browse this collection and others, please visit the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Archives: https://aspace.archives.ucar.edu/

This project documents traditional knowledge of marine use and resource management in American Samoa through the assimilation of oral histories of traditional fishing and resource management methods with elders from American Samoan coastal villages. 

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.

This oral history series explores the history and contemporary hardships faced by baymen, and their future on Long Island.

The beautiful coastal city of San Diego in southern California has been the nucleus of underwater exploration, innovation and research throughout sport diving’s relatively short history. Boasted as the home of the first dive club in the world, the first oceanographic research institution to use diving for science, and many of the most influential diving pioneers, San Diego has a rich cultural heritage in sport diving antiquity. Large and significant portions of this history have gone undocumented, as many stories and observations remain accessible only in the memories of these pioneers themselves. However, recreational divers in San Diego represent a large stakeholder group with a highly respected and knowledgeable capacity for shaping local marine resource management choices, and divers rely on the health and protection of these coastlines as a driver for their passions, leisure and fascination. The purpose of the project overall is to tell the history of sport diving in San Diego from the perspectives of those at its forefront.  Oral histories were recorded with eight experienced local San Diego divers who began diving recreationally and went on to become influential contributors to revolutions in marine science, diving technology and ocean resource management.

Commercial fishing has deep cultural ties to the Georgia coast, particularly the shrimping industry, which is the state’s largest and most economically valuable fishery. Shrimping has played an integral role in shaping the identities of the commercial fishermen who have spent most of their lives on the water. At the heart of these identities are the fishing boats that have carried captains and their crew for decades. 

These vessels have been bought and sold by fishermen up and down the coast for decades, connecting multiple generations of fishing families. They serve as the backbone of Georgia’s shrimping industry and have become iconic symbols for fresh and locally harvested seafood for the millions of residents and tourists who visit the coast.

In 2020-2021, Anthropologists at Georgia Southern University collaborated with Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant to record the stories and experiences of local shrimpers and their boats. Funded by Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resource Division through a Coastal Improvement Grant (NOAA #NA20NOS4190175), student researchers learned about commercial fishing as they conducted these oral history interviews.   These recordings powerfully preserve the voices and culture of commercial fishing to be shared with current and future generations. This database of knowledge is also available to guide science and regulatory decisions. Get to know Georgia's commercial fishermen by listening to their "Boat Stories"

These are audio recorded interviews with residents of Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties, Maryland who were connected to the seafood houses of Southern Maryland. Micheal and Carrie Kline did this work in 2005 as part of the “Seafood Houses of Southern Maryland Documentation Project” of the Calvert County Marine Museum.

To browse this collection and others, please visit the Berea College Special Collections & Archives: https://bereaarchives.libraryhost.com/

This is a collection of interviews with people who serve as " herring wardens” in their respective towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As of July 2019, interviews are still being conducted and added to this database as they are completed. Each audio file has been transcribed, and photos are included if they are available.

Massachusetts has more than 100 herring runs – rivers in which two species of fish known as ‘river herring’ migrate from the ocean into freshwater rivers and ponds to spawn.  Since the 1600s MA towns have appointed herring wardens to regulate the harvest of Alosa pseudoharengusand Alosa aestivalisand maintain clear passage for them to the spawning grounds.  In-river harvest of these fish has been important for a long time – they were used as food by Native Americans and early colonists. The harvest continued to be important for food, fertilizer, and bait right up until 2006.  Starting in 2006 the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries prohibited harvest in response to declining populations.

Abigail Archer, a Marine Resource Specialist and Extension Agent with the Barnstable County Cooperative Extension Marine Program and Woods Hole Sea Grant, conducted the interviews. She coordinates a group in Massachusetts called the “River Herring Network” that is composed of town river herring wardens from Cape Cod and Southeastern Massachusetts. 

This is a collection of 15 interviews conducted in 2007 with people on Cape Cod who are involved in the shellfishing industry. Five people who are employed by towns to manage and regulate shellfish (Shellfish Officers), seven people who own shellfish aquaculture businesses (Growers), and four people who harvest wild shellfish commercially (Commercial Harvesters) were asked the question “What does shellfishing mean to you?”. From that starting point, questions centered on how the individual got into shellfishing and then what they thought the future of shellfishing might be.

The interviews were conducted by Sandy Macfarlane, a retired shellfish biologist and conservation administrator for the town of Orleans. The work was done under a contract with the Barnstable County Cooperative Extension Marine Program. Each interview is summarized into a written document that varies from 807 to 1557 words long and has an accompanying photograph.  The interviews represent geographic, age, gender, and experience diversity as well as shellfish species diversity.  All interviewees are year round residents of Cape Cod.  One theme that emerged from this work is that shellfishing remains an important component of the Cape Cod economy and culture and those who are involved are concerned about its continued presence.

This collection is comprised of audio-recorded interviews conducted during 2022-2023 by folklorist Nicole Musgrave with support from the Kentucky Oral History Commission. Her work was part of an effort to document the geographic and human impact of the construction of the Carr Fork Reservoir in southeastern Kentucky, which was completed in 1976. The collection’s twenty interviews with residents of Knott, Letcher and Perry Counties range in focus and content. Most of the interviewees were affected by dislocation in some way. They express different opinions about the lake and its impact on the community. Most interviewees share memories of what the area was like before the lake was built, and many have vivid memories of what the construction process was like.

Casting a Wider Net is a community oral history project developed to collect and share the stories of Cape Verdean, Vietnamese, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran members of the commercial fishing industry. The project provided ethnographic training for 9 individuals from those communities who led the documentation effort, conducting 14 interviews in English, Spanish, Kriolu, and Vietnamese.

Casting a Wider Net is funded in part by a Wicked Cool Places grant from New Bedford Creative, a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and an Expanding Massachusetts Stories grant from Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

"Changes in the Florida Keys Marine Ecosystem Based Upon Interviews with Experienced Residents" is a  collection by Karen DeMaria of Summerland Key, Florida completed in April 1996. Funded by the Nature Conservancy and the Center for Marine Conservation, the project sought to describe, through oral history interviews, environmental changes in the Florida Keys marine ecosystem. 

The purpose of this project is to work to preserve the heritage of the commercial fishing industries in the Chesapeake Bay region by collecting and archiving oral histories of the men and women who are and were a part of this valuable history.  

This research focuses on documenting the collapse of the New England fishing industry in 1990s, reconstructing a timeline of events and documenting the impacts on fishermen, employees from the support industry, regulators, council members, environmentalists, congress staff, US coast guard personnel, national marine fishery service staff, scientists, and journalists.

Collecting Stories at the National Working Waterfronts and Waterways Symposium 2018 is a project of Maine Sea Grant, College of the Atlantic, the Island Institute, and the National Working Waterfront Network.

These oral histories capture and share the history and stories of commercial California halibut trawl fishermen, providing a way for the public to connect with local fishermen and the source of their seafood. Interviews are conducted with California halibut trawl fishermen in the San Francisco and Half Moon Bay ports, focusing on the fishermen’s fishing history, their family’s fishing history, and their plans for the future. This project will preserve pieces of the history of the California halibut trawl fishermen, as well as build and strengthen relationships between NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the state, local fishermen, and the community.

This is a compilation of oral history interviews with core team members of Cordell Expeditions, the team of divers that pioneered exploration of Cordell Bank in the late   1970s and 1980s. These individuals' efforts were instrumental in the discovery of Cordell Bank's biological richness, its nomination and designation as a National Marine Sanctuary. The extraordinary biodiversity of this special place was recognized in 1989, when Congress designated Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.    Today sanctuary staff work to protect the Cordell Bank region through research, regulations, and education. Interviews were conducted with Cordell Expeditions 'core team' members (those that were significantly involved in   the expedition from the beginning to end).

This project is a collection of oral histories of Cortez, Florida community members who are involved in maritime activities (such as commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, crew members, and fish house workers) in order to document the changing face of Cortez Village's marine environment.

The "Cumulative Effects and New Jersey Fisheries" Project was funded by the New Jersey Sea Grant College Program, New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium. Dr. Bonnie McCay and Dr. Kevin St. Martin of Rutgers University were the principal investigators of this project and interviews were conducted primarily by Dr. Grant Murray (now at Vancouver Island University) and Mike Danko (New Jersey Sea Grant College Program, New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium). These interviews had 2 principal goals: 1) to document the cumulative effects of regulatory change on the people, businesses and communities most directly dependent on New Jersey's fisheries; and 2) to create a history of New Jersey's commercial and recreational fisheries through the oral histories of people involved in them. Identifying information has been stripped from these interviews in order to preserve anonymity. Thanks to the 44 fish harvesters that participated in oral history interviews.

Florida is home to the only barrier reef in the continental United States. This project uses oral history interviews of coral reef stakeholders in Florida to showcase major changes in the reef tract over the past few decades. The stakeholders interviewed include scientists, fishermen, and SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) divers.

NOAA's Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History documents the experience of people living in Gulf  of Mexico  oil-spill-affected fishing communities. The oral history data complements other social and economic data about the spill collected by NOAA and other governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations.

The Dock Stories project incorporates oral history research with other research methods in order to address simultaneous issues being experienced by fishing communities in Georgia. The project goals are to improve infrastructure and industry sustainability by identifying improvement opportunities within the constraints of land use, environmental impacts, weather patterns, aging infrastructure, and evolving vessel needs, while also documenting the cultural history of commercial fishing docks in Georgia. An integral part of the project is training student researchers in the Georgia Southern Anthropology program. Under the guidance of Dr. Sweeney Tookes (Georgia Southern University) and Bryan Fluech (University of Georgia Marine Extension & Georgia Sea Grant), students are receiving comprehensive training in conducting interviews, oral histories, and appropriate interview protocols. They then spend several days at a time on the Georgia coast, learning firsthand about the marshes, estuaries, vessels, and communities before commencing lengthy oral history interviews with local experts on the industry. This project began in 2024 and will continue through 2026, coordinated by Graduate Student Project Manager, Kristin Meeuwen.

During the summer of 2018, the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and the U.S. Geological Survey recorded the oral histories of resource managers attending  a U.S. Caribbean drought workshop in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The oral testimonies collected here provide lessons learned from the past and solutions for the future. We hear stories of extreme storms like Hurricanes Irma and Maria, as well as stories of slower-moving chronic issues like drought and how they impact communities and ecosystems. These stories also provide insight into the scientific needs of the natural resource community in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands – and we learn what types of information could help managers effectively plan for future extreme weather events. As a whole, these individual stories — in their own native voices from U.S. Caribbean communities — give us access to a collection of experiences with the potential to help communities and researchers now and in the future.

These oral histories are held in the The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. The dLOC partner institutions are the core of dLOC. dLOC partners retain all rights to their materials and provide access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical, and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections. You can view the complete Caribbean oral history series here.

These interviews are conversations with professionals who have experience educating the public, including K-12 student groups, on environmental stewardship topics. The educators represent a range of cultural institutions, such as aquariums, children’s museums, and public gardens.  In each interview, these educators respond to questions about the specific tools, tactics, and techniques that they use to teach different types of students.

These interviews were conducted as part of Ellsworth High School's participation in the NOAA Fisheries Service  (NMFS) Local Fisheries Knowledge Pilot Project 2003-2005.  All 10th graders participated in this interdisciplinary project that involved English, History, Social Studies, and Biology classes. To read about the LFK Project, go to http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/lfkproject/.

Broadly, the project seeks to preserve the rich history of endangered fishing traditions in the Greater Miami Area. These oral histories expand our knowledge and enrich our understanding of the region's fisheries as well as the role that fishing has had in shaping the region’s economic and cultural life. Our goal was to interview key individuals connected to the fishing history of Miami, including: commercial and for-hire fishers; fish dealers/processors; fish markets; and bait and tackle shops. Geographically, we aim to cover major fishing areas that are endangered and undergoing rapid change. These include the following: Miami River, Coconut Grove (Montys), Haulover Park in North Miami. The first collection of interviews are focused on the Miami River. These interviews are conducted in English and Spanish. 

Energy & Environment contains the interviews of individuals who were involved with the development and implementation of state energy and environmental policy from the 1970s through the early decades of the 2000s. The interviews elicit insights about the policy-making process, the assignment of priorities, and the give-and-take involved in reaching final policy decisions. Of special interest are instances in which Kansas developed singular solutions and means for implementing them.  To explore this collection and others, visit the Kansas Oral History Project home page: https://ksoralhistory.org/

Like any place where hard work could yield fortune, Biloxi’s seafood industry attracted immigrant labor – first Polish by way of Baltimore, then Croatians and Cajuns, and more recently, Vietnamese. Collected here are some of the stories of Biloxi’s shrimping past and present.

The Finding Friendship Oral History Project is a joint effort of the Friendship Museum and the Friendship Village School, directed by Sally Merrick, museum volunteer, and Gaylea Hynd, teacher. In 2003-2004 sixth grade students conducted taped interviews of three generations of lobstermen and women, as well as others associated with the lobstering industry. Printed copies of the interviews and CDs of the printed transcripts are available at the Friendship Museum in Friendship, Maine.

In the late 19th century, the U.S. Fish Commission conducted numerous interviews with fishermen throughout the northeast U.S. including cod and mackerel fishermen from New York, New England and Nova Scotia. Most fishermen interviewed in the 1890s by the commission were over 50 years of age and recollected changes in the marine environment during their lifetimes. These interviews, or oral histories, are an excellent source for observations of Gulf of Maine fisheries. They provide first-hand accounts and observations of fish behavior and fishing activity on specific fishing grounds such as Stellwagen Bank. Most interviewees discuss the migratory patterns and behaviors of mackerel on the east coast. In addition, the fishermen offer descriptions of fish and catch sizes as well as theories for the decline in cod and mackerel in the 19th century. 

The goal of the “Fishing Traditions and Fishing Futures” project is to raise awareness of the experiences of commercial fishermen and their changing livelihoods in Georgia by documenting their local fisheries knowledge   and perspectives about the state and fate of Georgia’s commercial fishing industry through the use of oral  histories. Capturing the life stories and experiences of Georgia’s commercial fishermen is especially important since many local communities have depended on the coastal environment for their economic and cultural base  for generations.

Fishtales was a collaborative effort between the Working Waterfront Festival and the Social Services Branch of the Northeast Fisheries Science of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Fishermen and others connected to the working waterfront who attended the 2012 and 2013 Working Waterfront Festival in New Bedford were invited to share short stories on a variety of topics such as storms, close calls, unusual catches, workplace pranks, tales from the home front, and more. Project leaders were Laura Orleans and Patricia Pinto da Silva.

Florida's Forgotten Coast oral history collection includes twenty-one interviews documenting the seafood industry in Franklin County, Florida, with an emphasis on Apalachicola, plus two interviews relating to tupelo honey. Original Collection Housed at Archives & Special Collections at the University of Mississippi and online at www.southernfoodways.com.

This series consists of original digital audio interview recordings and selected CD listening copies relating to the Carrie and Michael Kline's documenting the wide spectrum of citizen opinion about natural gas extraction (Fracking / hydraulic fracturing) in Northcentral West Virginia mainly during 2014 and 2015. The interviews were drawn upon for use in the 8-minute audio feature Pay Dirt. Originals are housed with the Michael and Carrie Nobel Kline Collection at the Berea College Special Collections and Archives. 

To browse this collection and others, please visit the Berea College Special Collections & Archives: https://bereaarchives.libraryhost.com/

This project documents the lived experiences of women and other underrepresented genders in Maine's fisheries and aquaculture industries regarding the impacts of environmental change on their work. Interviews explore the bottom-up and innovative responses individuals are experimenting with to adapt to change as well as barriers and needs to realize resilient fishing futures. The initiative is a collaboration between the University of Maine, the College of the Atlantic, and Maine Sea Grant. It is funded by NOAA's Climate and Fisheries Adaptation Program and the Fund for Maine Islands.

African American participation in marine-related careers began as early as 1796, when the federal government issued Seamen’s Protection Certificates to merchant mariners defining them as “citizens” of the United States effectively making maritime employment one way for Black people to shape their identities. This project documents the fishery-related occupations of African Americans in coastal Georgia 1865 to present and gather information for future work that may ascertain the relationship between their decreased participation and changes in regional fish populations and the fishing  industry.

These oral histories examine the graying phenomenon and implications for the resilience of the commercial fishing industry in two coastal communities in Oregon.

This project is a collection of oral histories of recreational fishermen and fisheries managers located in the greater Tampa Bay area of Florida. Interviews in this project were conducted by eighth grade marine science students at Admiral Farragut Academy.

This series consists interview releases, invoices and reference material relating to the Klines' work for the Huntington District, Corps of Engineers. Interviews were conducted mainly during the late 1990s with Grundy, Virginia residents, Corps employees, and community planners in connection with the development of a flood control plan in response to the severe flooding of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River in 1977.

In 2017, we recorded the personal histories of some of the best bottomfish fishermen who fished across the Hawaiian archipelago for decades. They described the evolution of the fishery's unique culture, traditions, and techniques, to ensure sustainable management for future generations. For updates, visit: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/hawaii-bottomfish-heritage-project

Decisions about ocean and coastal regulation and management, and marine resources, often end up being made without heavy involvement of fishermen, aquafarmers, and others with strong local knowledge (for a variety of reasons), yet their stories and points of view offer some of the deepest insights into these issues and their potential solutions.

Our goal was, therefore, to hear from several local ocean experts about their views of how the environment and society surrounding our oceans has changed and why. Oral histories are an effective way to document local knowledge and information that might otherwise be unheard and eventually lost. Further, videos or transcripts of fishermen’s stories are an effective way of engaging the public and increasing awareness of the issues to help garner political and social support for local industry, resource protection and localization of food supply chains.

Through insightful interviews led by renowned marine ecologist Paul Dayton, himself a pioneer in ocean science, we spoke with four San Diego ocean pioneers- two longtime San Diego fishermen, an aquaculturist, and an underwater videographer- and asked them to reflect on their lives and careers; on trends they’ve observed in the environment, fishing and ocean culture, and public perceptions; and on lessons they've learned in order to inform decisions now surrounding marine resource use.

Nilima Mwendo conducted these interviews in 2003 with residents of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward who survived Hurricane Betsy when it made landfall on September 9, 1965. Interviews focus on the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood from the 1930s and 40s, when the area was only partially developed and rural, to the early 2000s. Interviewees discuss their experiences during the hurricane, the evacuation of the neighborhood, disaster relief from the state and federal government and Red Cross, and the hardships they and other residents encountered in the months and years they spent rebuilding their homes and lives after they returned to the neighborhood. Interviewees describe the neighborhood before Betsy and discuss changes in the community after the storm. Several interviewees also discuss social activism and advocacy for the neighborhood in the 1960s and 70s.

To browse this collection and others, please visit the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History: https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/lsu-thwcoh

The goal of CWPPRA’s (Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act) "I Hope" Project is to hear from Louisiana residents whose lives are touched by our coastal wetlands. Each advocate has a unique story as they share their hopes for coastal Louisiana's future.

The goal of the Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act's (CWPPRA) Personal Reflections Project is to capture the lives and stories of Louisiana residents who have been stewards of the wetlands and storytellers who open the door to the world of habitat protection and preservation. Each person has a unique tale, but the Louisiana wetlands have been a part of all of their lives.  We invite you to learn more about these coastal caretakers. We have tried to capture our Louisiana guardians in two ways: the first with an environmental portrait and the second with an oral history.

Series of interviews conducted for the documentary In Their Own Words: Perseverance and Resilience in Two Florida Fishing Communities. 

Interviews from “Dirty Little Secrets,” a collaborative investigative reporting project in the New Jersey, looking at the local effects of pollution.

On March 19, 2018, an EF-3 tornado devastated the City of Jacksonville, Alabama, and had a significant impact on the campus of Jacksonville State University (JSU). Using an oral history approach, a team of researchers from JSU's Center for Disaster and Community Resilience (CDCR) conducted in-depth interviews with 25 residents of Jacksonville who experienced the EF-3 tornado. Interviews took place in the Houston Cole Library, were conducted in private, and lasted approximately 90 minutes each. An article was published in 2022 based on the tornado oral history project in the Weather, Climate, and Society journal by the American Meteorological Society (AMS).

To explore this collection and others resources, visit JSU's Digital Commons: https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu.

The Joides Resolution Oral Histories document the experiences and perspectives of technical staff and senior crew aboard the U.S. scientific ocean drilling ship Joides Resolution during the School of Rock (SoR) 2024 program.

This collection was designed to preserve the maritime heritage of Jonesport-Beals are and to document changes in fisheries down through the years.

This project features life history interviews with present and former longtime residents of Kalihi, a multi-ethnic working-class district located west of downtown Honolulu, which has a long history as a home of island immigrants.

Kings of The Yukon is a both documentary and a  social impact enterprise that seeks to help stimulate  the economy communities of the Lower Yukon River  in Western Alaska.

In 1984, members of the Friends of Koloa Public/School Library began researching their community's history for a commemorative publication, marking the sesquicentennial of commercial sugar cultivation in Hawaii.

This project includes interviews with elders of the indigenous aquaculture community of loko iʻa (fish pond) practitioners, many of whom are community activists who fought to protect fishponds from destruction and further loss. 

Folklorist Nancy Solomon has documented the maritime culture of Long Island through these interviews spanning the years 1987 – 2016. The collection includes baymen, fishermen, boat builders and other maritime tradition bearers.   

This project examines how Superstorm Sandy affected the seafaring community, its residents, and its maritime traditions in Long Island, New York.  It was funded by a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Preserve American Grant.

The goal of the project is to document through oral history how coastal changes like sea level rise, erosion, increased flooding, and disappearing wetlands are affecting the people and the culture in the region. 

Through the support of the Maine Humanities Council and the Island Institute, the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association was able to collect hours of oral histories from fishermen throughout Maine.

In 2013-2014, Maine Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries collaborated to document and showcase harvesters’ knowledge of alewives, blueback herring, and American eels in Downeast Maine. The project was funded through a NOAA Preserve America grant. Julia Beaty, a Maine Sea Grant scholar who recently graduated from the University of Maine with a master’s in marine science and a master’s in marine policy, researched the history of each species in eastern Maine and conducted dozens of interviews with harvesters and other stakeholders.

MAST 4994W/AMST 3265W Capstone students at the University of Connecticut produced podcasts from oral histories that they collected during the Spring semester 2020.  

Interviews with river herring wardens in Massachusetts sponsored by the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension & Woods Hole Sea Grant.

Matanzas Voices is a multimedia oral history initiative documenting life and work on northeast Florida’s Matanzas River, whose estuary stretches approximately twenty-three miles southward from the St. Augustine Inlet to seven miles south of the Matanzas Inlet in Flagler County. For more information, visit: matanzasvoices.com.

Collection of oral histories about the history and mission of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) Milford Lab in Milford, Connecticut.

The Minnesota and Great Lakes Fishermen were interviewed in the course of writing a series of books on the mid-1990s flurry of net bans on the Gulf Coast. Pennsylvania’s Lake Erie fishermen were put out of business in 1994; Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods fishermen were put out of business in the 1980s. Both bodies of water are shared with Canada, where vibrant commercial fisheries remain.

Interviews with members of the crew and scientific party of NOAA Ship Mount Mitchell, a hydrographic survey ship deployed to the Persian Gulf in the wake of the Gulf War to conduct an environmental assessment of the damage caused by the retreating Iraqi Army’s firing of Kuwait’s oil wells.

Students of the Nantucket Lighthouse Middle School, with assistance from Georgen Charnes and Gail Clark, interviewed several Nantucketers with positions related to the waters of Nantucket in the spring of 2011. Copies of these interviews are archived at Nantucket Historical Association Research Library. 

The interviews in this collection were selected from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Oral History Program, which contains interviews with aerospace legends, analyses of key events, aerospace chronologies, and more. The interviews included here are those that relate specifically to NOAA's mission.

For more information and to explore the larger collection, visit NASA's Oral Histories.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Oral History Collection Oral History Project documents the history of NCAR/UCAR through interviews, recorded discussions, and lectures by staff and others.  The project initially had a strong focus on the creation and development of NCAR, including the design and construction of the Mesa Laboratory headquarters by I.M. Pei. Over the years, the project has expanded to include a wider range of topics and experiences within NCAR/UCAR history.

For more information, visit archives.ucar.edu or email archives@ucar.edu.

This collection features oral histories with NOAA staff who worked in weather, including meteorologists and other researchers.

This oral history collection with immigrant women in the fish industry documents better the experiences of the women working in the fish industry and how the regulations of the government and other factors would affect their lives and the lives of their families. 

The Bayshore Center at Bivalve’s Oral History program is dedicated to preserving the oral history and culture of New Jersey’s Bayshore region by saving for posterity the oral histories and material culture connected with the Bayshore region, by creating a repository of recordings and data that can be used for research, by preserving, treasuring and celebrating the environment, history and culture of the Bayshore region and by sharing the heritage of the Bayshore region today and with future generations through program related activities serving visitors, students and scholars.

Interviews with residents of the Newport Beach, California about the history of the area, its development, and changes in the fishing industry.  For more information, visit: The Lawrence de Graaf Center for Oral and Public History.

Interviews with retired staff of NOAA Beaufort Lab, documenting their academic background, career path, research focus, and reflections on their work in the lab.  

NOAA Heritage Oral History Project aims to document the history and legacy of NOAA through compelling interviews with its leaders. These firsthand accounts provide an invaluable resource that preserves NOAA's significant contributions to environmental research and management, fostering a deeper understanding of NOAA's vital role in shaping our understanding of the Earth's oceans and atmosphere.

St. Croix, USVI has only a handful of coastal lagoons that serve as critical habitats for many commercial marine fish species, as well as providing other ecosystem services for the small island community. Great Pond Lagoon, located in the East End Marine Park, is one such area that contributes to food security and hazard mitigation. As part of restoration planning for this priority site, the territory has included oral histories from community leaders. These perspectives provide historical context and characterization of Great Pond over time and highlight the importance of restoration for the future.

This project was made possible by principal investigators at the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), including the Coastal Resilience Coordinator Hilary Lohmann and the East End Marine Park Coordinator Kelcie Troutman. The oral histories were funded by NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and produced by Soundstage VI through an agreement between CZM and Tysam Tech, LLC to host a community charrette and produce a Great Pond Restoration Action Plan. More information can be found on the project website and DPNR’s website.

The oral histories are an in depth look at how the fishing industry affects individual fishermen as well as their  families. The oral histories also allow us to gain inside perspective  on how management regulations affect the social and cultural aspects of people in the fishery.

This collections contains recordings of interviews with Woods Hole residents and visiting scientists, as part of the Woods Hole Historical Museum’s Oral History Collection.  For more information, visit: woodsholemuseum.org.

The "Oral History of Georgia Fisheries" collection delves into the cultural legacy of Georgia's commercial fishing industry, as showcased in the documentary "Shifting Baselines," a collaboration between Blue Voyage Productions, University of Georgia Marine Extension, and Georgia Sea Grant. Supported by a National Maritime Heritage Grant, this oral history initiative aims to foster appreciation for locally-sourced seafood and the resilience of multi-generational fishing traditions

Interviews with Monterey Bay Fishermen on fishing methods, business changes, and challenges to fishing. 

Interviews with former or current commercial fishermen in and around Newport, Oregon, and Kodiak, Alaska, exploring their involvement in Alaska fishing during the 1960s through 1980s. Funding was provided by the NOAA Preserve America Initiative, part of Preserve America, and by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
 

In 1997 the Peconic Estuary Council hired Nancy Solomon to interview East End fishermen and baymen as part of its work in developing a master plan for the estuary.  Solomon interviewed ten fishermen and continued to document the east end fishermen in later years.

People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin’s Love Affair with an Ancient Fish showcases the cultural and scientific history of an iconic Wisconsin fish, the lake sturgeon. Throughout the process of writing the book, the authors interviewed community activists, sturgeon-spearing enthusiasts, spear and decoy craftsmen, and scientific researchers associated with the Lake Winnebago sturgeon population. Because of the cultural, social, economic, and scientific knowledge captured in these interviews, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin Water Library preserved the audio files as a collection of  oral histories. This collection, People of the Sturgeon, encapsulates perspectives on lake sturgeon as they are reflected in the book. The People of the Sturgeon collection includes interviews with outdoorsmen, scientists, and craftsmen associated with the Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin, lake sturgeon population.

The collection was compiled by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin Water Library. Audio courtesy of the Oshkosh Public Museum. Recordings were collected as part of the research for People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin's Love Affair with an Ancient Fish published by Wisconsin Historical Society Press, Madison, Wisconsin.

The Port of Los Angeles celebrated its Centennial on December 9, 2007.  As part of the Port of Los Angeles Centennial Oral History Project, these interviews feature various members of the Los Angeles Harbor Area community who were interviewed in 2007 to document different eras in Port history.

Collection of fifteen oral histories with Portuguese immigrant fishermen who worked out of the port of New Bedford. The project was sponsored by a NOAA Preserve America grant.

Bayou La Batre, like other Gulf coastal fishing towns, is undergoing rapid change associated with international market pressures while being threatened by pleasure industry development. As a result, its people are losing key aspects of their traditional lifeways. This oral history film project is an attempt to preserve remembrances and knowledge obtained through such fading ways of life. The principal investigator is Gregory A. Waselkov, with associate investigators Michael Stieber and Harriet L. Richardson Seacat. The project was completed in September 2008, and the collection is housed at the Center for Archaeological Studies at the University of South Alabama, located at HUMB 34, 307 North University Boulevard, Mobile, Alabama 36688. Another location where the collection is housed is the University of South Alabama Archives in Springhill Room 0722, Mobile, Alabama 36688.

In the second half of 2020, Joanne Flanders conducted a series of Oral History interviews on behalf of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) around the topic of ocean exploration, with the objectives of providing interviews to the NOAA Voices Oral History Archives and initiating a collection on the topic. OER is also interested in using elements of the interviews in its own outreach and education products, including those created to inspire the next generation of explorers. Five ocean explorers participated including several members of the President's Panel for Ocean Exploration, a group whose recommendations led to the creation of OER 20-years ago. In the future, additional interviews will be conducted by OER, and possibly by other NOAA programs as well who are involved with the topic

This project documents fishery management related changes in individuals, households, and communities in New England.

"Shrimp Tales” tells the stories of some of the many families that depend on Louisiana’s shrimp fishery for livelihood, and the problems they continue to encounter within the industry. 

South Texas Stories is an ongoing oral/aural history project and digital archive that seeks to preserve and share the rich history and heritage of Corpus Christi and the surrounding area.  For more information, visit the homepage for South Texas Stories.

This project is a collection of oral histories by individuals who participate in fishery management within the Southeast Region of the U.S. and consists of individuals who serve on the regional councils and their scientific and advisory panels or staff. 

This project collects oral histories from lobstermen and resource managers in Connecticut and New York.

These interviews were recorded with residents of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula of Virginia during 2003 who knew much about the history of steamboating in the region. Included were many now no longer living, who worked on the boats and wharves, those who rode them as passengers and crew, and those who shipped produce and manufactured items or ordered goods for delivery. At the time, copies of the recordings were provided to the Steamboat Era Museum in Irvington, Virginia for use in various educational programs.

To browse this collection and others, please visit the Berea College Special Collections & Archives: https://bereaarchives.libraryhost.com/

This series consists of original recordings of audio interviews resulting from Michael Kline's work during 1984 - 1985 documenting the experience of Lewis County, West Virginia residents forced to leave their homes by the construction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Stonewall Jackson Flood Control Dam. Thirty-five recorded interviews with residents, planners, politicians and lawmen were drawn upon to create an audio documentary, "We're Here To Take You Out," which explored the impact and collateral, human costs of such projects on rural life, arts, and values.

To browse this collection and others, please visit the Berea College Special Collections & Archives: https://bereaarchives.libraryhost.com/

In partnership with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, these oral history recordings capture the invaluable life experiences of long-lived members of Gloucester's working waterfront, one of the oldest fishing communities in the United States.

The Tales of Cape Cod Oral History Collection consists      of interviews of life long residents of all the towns in  Barnstable County conducted between ca. 1972-1978. Louis Cataldo, then president of the Tales of Cape Cod board, oversaw the project, staff included Franklin S. Klausner, Roland Barabe, David J. Boudreau, Charles H. Hodgson and Renee Magriel, and interviewers included Betty W. Richards, Lee Anne Sullivan and William Pride. Interviewers asked older Cape Residents about changes    in transportation, the arrival of electricity and telephones, their memories of school, holiday celebrations, foodways, family histories and more. Residents shared stories and anecdotes about summer people, the fishing and   cranberry industries, agriculture, local businesses, the Great Depression, World Wars I and II, Prohibition, race relations, economic change, major storms and much    more.  For more information, contact the William Brewster Nickerson Archives in the Wilkens Library at Cape Cod Community College: http://www.nickersonarchives.org/ 

Interviews were conducted by Teri Frady, supervisory Public Affairs Specialist for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Interviews were conducted in 2005 and 2006 for the online ezine, The Ffiles, for Northeast Fisheries Science Center staff.

The Fishing Industry of Newport, Rhode Island: 1930-1987 oral history project was implemented under the auspices of the Newport Historical Society and the University of Rhode Island Sea Grant Program. The interviews document the fishing industry from the point of view of its complex traditions and changes. These interviews provide a body of unedited primary source material focusing on priority issues of local concern and those beyond the geographic area under study. Interviews were conducted by Jennifer Murray of the Newport Historical Society and transcribed at the Center for Oral History, University of Connecticut. Copies of tapes and transcripts are available for research at the Newport Historical Society. As stated in the release form, which accompanies each transcript, the memoirs are to be used for scholarly and educational purposes only.

Interviews conducted by Jennifer Murray of the Newport Historical Society Interviews were conducted between 1987 and 1988. Copies of tapes, releases, and transcripts are available for research at the Newport Historical Society http://www.newporthistorical.org/. Copies of transcripts are also accessible on the National Sea Grant Library website http://nsgd.gso.uri.edu/.

The Gulf is an oral history project and podcast that shares stories about people and nature on the Texas Gulf Coast. For more information, visit the The Gulf's homepage.

The Gulf is an oral history project and podcast that shares stories about people and nature on the Texas Gulf Coast.

The Hudson River Maritime Museum’s Hudson River Commercial Fishermen’s Oral History Collection consists of interviews with commercial fishermen conducted in the early 1980s and early 1990s. Locations discussed range from New York City to Albany and time periods from the 1920s to the 1990s. The focus of these interviews is primarily on the decline of the commercial fishing industry, including changes in fishing techniques and gear, changes in water quality and pollution, economic and market changes, and changes in fishing populations, including government regulation. 

Content note: Some of the terminology used in these interviews reflects the time period and personalities of the people being interviewed and not that of the Hudson River Maritime Museum or New York Heritage.

You can explore this collection and others at: https://nyheritage.org/collections/oral-histories-hudson-river-commercial-fishermen

Through the middle of the 20th century there were as many as 75 canneries up and down the coast of Maine, providing employment and an abundant food source for Maine and the nation. That included feeding American troops through World War I and World War II. At the sound of the factory whistle, cannery workers came and packed fish, staying on the job until an entire boatload of fish was processed. By the 1970's the canneries we declining, and the last sardine cannery in the U.S., at Prospect Harbor, ME closed in April of 2010. Between 2011 and 2013, Keith Ludden interviewed over a dozen cannery workers who worked in the industry. These interviews can also be found on Oral History & Folklife Research's website - oralhistoryandfolklife.org.

Fishermen's wives, mothers, and daughters have historically played integral roles in fishing families for generations. Responsibilities have typically included managing homes, children, and business operations. As fisheries management increases in complexity, the roles of women in fisheries is changing. While still maintaining their traditional roles, they are also expanding into management, research, and advocacy. In some circumstances, women are interacting regularly with other fishermen, processors, fisheries managers at both the state and federal levels, as well as researchers. These changing roles may precipitate changing communication and policy. In this collection meet women and families that talk about their experiences in commercial fishing and how it has changed over time.

These oral histories will preserve the memories, achievements, and lessons learned, of active and retired experts and leaders whose work contributed greatly to the modernization and restructuring of NOAA’s National  Weather Service.

Here are the stories of men and women who make their living working on the waters of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Interviews with spotter pilots about their early lives, career, aircraft, and fish spotting techniques.

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.

These interviews are part of the Center for Oral History's project, Tsunamis in Maui County: Oral Histories. Interviews from this project are available in the Center's ScholarSpace open-access repository. This collection of interviews represents first-person accounts of any tsunami occurring in Maui County. Although the most severe tsunami occurred on April 1, 1946, some residents recalled tsunamis occurring as far back as 1923. In addition to the first-person accounts, the interviewees provide descriptions of the areas that they grew up in. They also provide advice to the readers on what to do in the event of future tsunamis. The Center for Oral History (COH), in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, collects, documents, preserves and highlights the recollections of Native Hawaiians and the multi-ethnic people of Hawaiʻi. It produces oral histories and interpretive historical materials about lifeways, key historic events, social movements, and Hawaiʻi’s role in the globalizing world for the widest possible use.

Life history interviews with individuals who witnessed and survived tsunamis-particularly the 1946 and 1960 disasters on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Thirty individuals-mostly residents of Hilo and Laupahoehoe-recall their experiences before; during, and after the 1946 and 1960 tsunamis which were arguably the most destructive natural disasters in modem Hawaiian history. 

This series consists of interviews recorded by Michael Kline that document the experience of survivors of the 1985 Tucker County, West Virginia flood.  To browse this collection and others, please visit the Berea College Special Collections & Archives: https://bereaarchives.libraryhost.com/

In the early 1900's, the West Coast tuna industry was born in the small coastal California town of San Pedro, near Los Angeles. Fishing and canning businesses soon expanded to nearby Terminal Island developing into a multi-million dollar industry. At the heart of it all was a thriving immigrant community. Generations of immigrants primarily from Japan, Croatia, and Italy harvested tuna, supported the bustling fish markets, and worked in the canneries. They explored new fishing grounds and developed novel fishing and preservation methods that influenced the global tuna industry today. Though the large tuna fleet and canneries are now gone from the area, many of those who were involved still reside there. The interviews in this collection were conducted as part of an effort to create a short film about this history. 

Partnering with the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi, Mississippi and various Sea Grant programs, this project collects and preserves early 1980s Turtle Excluder Device (TED) oral histories from the inventors of early TEDs, the NOAA Fisheries and Sea Grant personnel central to the development of TEDs, and local shrimpers about their experiences using the early TEDs.

This oral history project was conducted under a contract between the Center for Oral History (COH) of the University of Hawai'i and the Hawai'i Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) for the purposes of 1) documenting first-hand historical information on 'Ualapu'e Fishpond and the surrounding community to both preserve the cultural integrity of the pond as restoration takes place and to provide educational materials relating to fish pond culture and East End, Moloka'i community history; 2) making this information available to those planning to restore other ponds in the future, as well as to researchers, students and the general public needing information on Moloka'i's social and cultural history; and 3) obtaining from community residents input and reactions regarding the pond's restoration.  To explore these interviews and more, https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/29789.

The "Vanishing Culture Project" was a Florida Humanities Council grant to capture the oral histories of longtime residents of Cortez.   The project also produced several stations about the folkways of the fishermen of Cortez that are placed around the village and a mural painted on the side of a prominent fish house in the community.

POORT (Port Orford Ocean Resource Team) supports its mission of long term sustainability of ocean resources and community through various initiatives.  These include the Blue Water Task Force which tests water quality monthly as well as the Port Orford Community Stewardship Area that has identified traditional fishing grounds.  They also support many scientific efforts such as the Rockfish Tagging Project and the Dive Survey and Seaweed Collection.  Members of the POORT provide interviews and discuss information that is important to the unique small community of Port Orford in southern Oregon.  Smaller boats and a unique geography contribute to the charm and characteristics of this community.  Learn about fishing from Port Orford and other activities surrounding this unique community.  For more information on POORT, check out their website at www.oceanresourcetean.org.

Voices from the Science Centers is an oral history initiative dedicated to documenting the institutional knowledge of fisheries scientists and administrators in the labs of NOAA’s Fisheries Science Centers.

Working waterfronts are inherently entwined with the social and cultural aspects of their host communities; they are integral to how community members define themselves and set themselves apart from others. This project captures and preserves oral histories highlighting the importance of working waterfronts to the nation’s fisheries, economy, and coastal communities. 

In The Capturing the Voices of the Bay Education Program, students take responsibility for their own learning experience as they research, plan, and conduct personal interviews, first with each other and then with citizens of the community, to capture the rich stories, traditions, and knowledge that define Monterey’s fishing legacy. This place-based learning experience allows students the opportunity to deeply explore the historic, economic, environmental, and cultural dimensions of their particular “place” in the world and, perhaps more importantly, how all these dimensions inter-connect through the lives of those who live and work in the region.

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.

Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019 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.

These oral histories chart the personal stories of individuals with a longtime connection to the west side of Kodiak Island, defined for the scope of this project as the area buffeted by the Shelikof Strait that stretches from Kupreanof Strait south to the village of Karluk. The project endeavored to create historical primary source material for a region that lacks substantive documentation and engage west side individuals in the creation of that material.

The folks in the Wetland Riders collection were interviewed in the course of writing the book of that title. “Wetland Riders” was intended to help members of the commercial fishing industry and the general public understand how and why Gulf Coast states in the late 1980s and 1990s were giving exclusive access to key culinary species—such as the red drum and spotted seatrout—to the recreational fishing industry.

For 300 years, the fishermen of Sneads Ferry, North Carolina have practiced sustainable, small- scale commercial fishing, passing on the traditional lore of the sea from generation to generation. In the early 21st century, imported farm-raised shrimp, skyrocketing coastal development, and complex regulations threatened to push many fishermen to the brink of disaster. Wild Caught captures the wisdom and resilience of an extraordinary community.

This oral history project focuses on Native Alaska women engaged in Bristol Bay fisheries. Women play a major role   in maintaining set net permits and are critical to sustaining small-scale fisheries in Alaska and the communities who depend on them. Interviews were conducted with women  of various ages who have participated in commercial and/ or subsistence salmon fisheries.

The Women in the New England Fisheries Oral History Project aims to capture and preserve the diverse and compelling narratives of women who have made significant contributions to the fishing industry in the New England region. Through a series of in-depth interviews, this project seeks to illuminate the experiences, challenges, and triumphs of women involved in various aspects of the fisheries, including fishing families, industry leaders, researchers, and policymakers. By documenting their stories, this project strives to honor the pivotal roles of women in shaping the New England fisheries and to provide valuable insights into the changing dynamics of gender, communication, and policy within the industry.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Oral History (WHOI) Project began in 1998 to record the recollections and personal insights of the scientists and staff of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Under the auspices of the Data Library and Archives, the project endeavors to include the entire spectrum of the WHOI community, scientists and engineers, support staff ashore and afloat, and collaborators from other organizations such as the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and United States Geological Survey (USGS). Since its inception in 1930, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has grown from what some had called a summer camp for scientists to a unique,  multi-disciplined, internationally recognized giant in the world of ocean sciences. World famous not only to the international scientific community but to the average citizen who is thrilled by the many documentaries, books, and articles featuring the men, women, research, and technology that form the backbone of the institution. WHOI represents a unique group of innovative scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff with the common purpose of gathering, interpreting, and communicating an understanding of the ocean.

These oral histories were produced in 2017 as part of the Workers on the Waterfront Oral History Project conducted by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center with funding from an Archie Green Fellowship provided by the Library of Congress.

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.

Please visit the Voices SoundCloud page to explore clips and stories that relate to this collection.