Rodman Sykes, 59, is a commercial fisherman out of Point Judith, Rhode Island. His family was in the fishing industry and he grew up on the docks fishing with his grandfather, father and uncles; he bought his own boat in 1984. He currently fishes predominantly for fluke (summer flounder) and skates. He is a member of Sector 5 and has participated in various cooperative research projects, including underwater cable monitoring off Vero Beach, Florida. Mr. Sykes believes that sectors could have been a great management tool but for the way National Marine Fisheries Services allocated quota.

Jon Knight, 52, is the owner of Superior Trawl, a fishing gear designer and builder, in Galilee/Point Judith, Rhode Island. He began as a commercial fisherman and was drawn to working with nets. He began working for various gear shops and attended the University of Rhode Island, receiving both a technical degree in fisheries and later a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He owns and operates Superior Trawl and is involved in cooperative research, in an effort to improve selectivity in fisheries.

Richard "Rob" Walz, 50, a commercial fisherman out of Tiverton, RI, began fishing as a boy. Mr. Walz fishes offshore, targeting different species seasonally. He has been a member of the common pool since sector management began, because his sector allocation was too small. Mr. Walz finds that sector management often causes fishermen to target one species, whereas fishermen used to diversify and catch numerous different species in an effort to conserve less abundant fish.

Marie (Riena) Ligenza, 58, is married to commercial fisherman Ted Ligenza, who fishes out of Chatham, MA. They have three sons that are also commercial fishermen, though she is not from a fishing family herself. Her husband and sons all fish mainly inshore, her husband for fish and her sons for shellfish. Mrs. Ligenza tries to separate herself from the intricacies of fishing, beyond it supporting her family and her doing finances for her husband's fishing.

Steven Wilkes, 65, is a retired commercial fisherman out of Newport, Rhode Island. Mr. Wilkes fished with his grandfather as a boy and began fishing commercially at age 18, buying his first boat at age 29 after working as a teacher and deckhand for a few years. Though he in no longer an active fisherman, he still lives on his boat and maintains a permit in the common pool. Mr. Wilkes did mostly day trips as a fisherman, but worked patrolling telecommunications cables prior to retiring from fisheries. He does not have a positive impression of sectors or government involvement in business.

Ted Ligenza, 60, is a commercial fisherman out of Chatham, MA. He began fishing around age 22 after working on the fish pier in Chatham; he now has 3 sons, all of whom fish. He fishes different species organisms seasonally, generally inshore, though occasionally offshore for codfish. In 2003, Mr. Ligenza joined the George's Bank sector, which was the first sector, long before sector management became the primary management regime in 2010, and is now a member of the Fixed Gear sector that began in 2005. He feels that leasing and owning fish is an awkward concept.

Fred Mattera is a recently retired commercial fisherman out of Point Judith, Rhode Island. He belonged to sector 5 before retiring and is currently functioning as a liaison between sector 5 fishermen and the out-of-state sector manager. Most recently, Mr. Mattera predominantly fished both inshore and offshore squid, but has also groundfished in the past which is why he's in sector 5. He is very active in the fisheries community. He has a generally positive outlook on sector management but believes the key to success in sectors is to have more fish available to everyone.