Dan Miller
Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities
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.
National Capital Contracting
Dan W. Miller, born in 1949, in Waterville, Maine, is a seasoned commercial fisherman with a rich history in the industry. He began his fishing career at a young age, obtaining his own lobstering license and boat at around seven years old. His commercial fishing journey started in the early 1970s. Despite not coming from a fishing family, Miller grew up in Cape Porpoise, a small harbor fishing community in Southern Maine, which is part of the town of Kennebunkport. He is a first-generation Mainer, with his father hailing from New Jersey and his mother from Massachusetts. Among his siblings, three of his brothers and one sister are also involved in the fishing industry, while another sister runs a fish market restaurant on their wharf in Tenants Harbor. His other two sisters are not involved in fishing. Despite the tragic loss of one sibling at sea, the family remains closely knit, occasionally contributing to each other's fishing businesses.
Scope and Content Note
This interview with Dan Miller provides a comprehensive insight into his life and experiences as a commercial fisherman in Maine. The interview covers a wide range of topics, including Miller's personal background, his early start in lobstering and commercial fishing, his family history, and his experiences in the fishing industry. Miller discusses the challenges he faced in the industry, such as market gluts that led to periods where they couldn't fish due to an oversupply of fish on the market. He also shares his experiences with fish transportation and the issues of fish theft during transportation to markets in Boston and New York. The interview provides a detailed account of the fishing industry's operations, including the use of ice in preserving fish, the process of cleaning fish and sending them to the market, and the role of trucking outfits in transporting fish. This interview serves as a valuable resource for understanding the intricacies of the commercial fishing industry in Maine, as well as the personal experiences and challenges faced by fishermen like Dan Miller.
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