Eben Nieuwkerk, 29 years old at the time of the interview, is the owner-operator of two gillnet and lobster boats in Portland and Kennebunkport, ME.

Scope and Content Note

Eben Nieuwkerk, discusses his occupation and experiences in the fishing industry. He shares his journey from disliking lobstering as a child to finding his passion in groundfishing with his father. He highlights the challenges in the fishing industry, including skyrocketing bait prices and the need for permits to fish. Eben reflects on the unpredictability of groundfishing, which he finds more exciting than lobstering due to the unknown nature of the catch. He also talks about the difficulties in obtaining a lobster license and expresses his opinion that anyone should have the opportunity to fish. Eben further discusses the impact of regulations and the issues related to discarding fish. He also touches upon his efforts to get monkfish certified as a clean and sustainable fishery. 

Eben also highlights the difficulty of entering the fishing industry, particularly for younger individuals, due to the high cost and competition from big boat operators. He also touches upon the drug issues plaguing the industry and the impact of regulations on fishing practices. He hypothesizes that the fishing industry is likely to improve in the next ten years because many of the current fishermen are in their fifties and sixties and will soon retire, leading to fewer people fishing. He predicts consolidated fleets of large boats with only a few small boats remaining. However, he points out that this might not be ideal and suggests a system where small boat fishermen get some form of cod allocation to ensure their livelihoods. 

He attributes a great part of his success to the training he was given by his fisherman father, and says it would be nearly impossible for a young person to become a successful owner-operator without that support. "You have to have a good teacher," he asserts. "My father, I can always call him and ask him, 'Hey, where are the fish? What’s going on here? I’m doing horrible.' To have a backup, a lifeline, where you can essentially tell him what you’ve been doing and where. He’s fished out there for twenty or twenty-five years... It makes a big difference to have that." In his interview, Eben discusses his views about a need for greater political representation for smaller boats, the toll that drugs have taken on the industry, and the benefits of cutting costs by building his own boat and catching his own bait.