Bryan E. Cumbie is a commercial fisherman from Bayou LaBatre, Alabama. Cumbie began his fishing career in 1996, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Billy Johnson, who taught him the trade. He has been involved in commercial fishing since the 1970s and has spent most of his life in Bayou LaBatre. Cumbie's experience in the fishing industry spans several decades, and he has witnessed the impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster on the Gulf Coast fisheries. 

Mr. Clyde Leslie Brown was born July 1, 1932, in Pecan, Mississippi, to Nathaniel Richard Brown (born November 22, 1901, in Canoe, Alabama) and Mary Edna Stork Brown (born February 28, 1906, in Pecan, Mississippi). His father was a farmer who ran a general store in Canoe, Alabama, and his mother was a housewife. His mother’s father was a commercial fisherman in Jackson County, Mississippi, who ran a general store in Pecan, Mississippi. On September 4, 1955, he married Annie Marie Jones.

Earl Ross is a commercial shrimper in the Gulf of Mexico. Ross was born on December 13, 1947, in Biloxi, Mississippi, to Mr. Wildon Ross (born April 22, 1922, in Biloxi) and Mrs. Ruth Wallis Ross) born September 27, 1929). His father was a police officer, taxicab owner, and shrimper in Biloxi. His mother was a bookkeeper. His father’s family were shrimpers who owned local businesses, including grocery stores, clothing stores, and taxicabs. His mother’s family were shrimpers and bakers. On November 17, 1968, he married his wife, Charlene (born December 14, 1947).

George V. Jackson, III (b. 1957) is a third-generation commercial fisherman working out of St. Bernard, Louisiana. He was born on February 13, 1957, in New Orleans, Louisiana to George Jackson Jr. (born September 28, 1934, in New Orleans) and Odurna Jackson (born December 12, 1937, in New Orleans). His father was a part-time commercial fisherman, concurrently with being a baker and a millwright. In the late 1960s, his father became a full-time commercial fisherman. His father’s family worked at Jackson Brewery in New Orleans and fished.

Mr. Gerald William Bosarge was born on November 13, 1934, in Pecan, Mississippi, to Mr. Charles Bosarge and Mrs. Bosarge (born Saksa, in Finland). He is married to Mrs. Harriet Janice Zirlott (born in Coden, Alabama on June 27, 1945). They have two children, Gerald William Bosarge Jr. and Lori Ann Bosarge. At the time of this interview, Mr. Bosarge was retired from commercial fishing, and after forty years of fishing for a living, he currently fishes for fun and sustenance. He is from a multi-generational fishing family, with ancestors who fished on both sides of his family. 

Henry Martinez is a commercial fisherman in the Louisiana wetlands. He was born on November 25, 1942, in Arabi, Louisiana, to Mr. Felipe Martinez Ortega (born on October 4, 1986, in Garrucha, Spain) and Mrs. Mary Molero Martinez (born on February 2, 1908, on Delacroix Island, Louisiana). His father was a fisherman in Spain and around Delacroix Island. As a young man he was a merchant marine and fisherman. His paternal grandparents were fishermen, and his maternal grandparents were farmers. His mother’s father was a fur trapper.

Hilton Floyd is a lifelong fisherman on the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mr. Hilton Floyd was born on September 15, 1956, in Jacksonville, Florida, to Mr. Hilton Floyd Sr. (born in Mayport, Florida) and Mrs. Helen Cooper Floyd (born in Mayport, Florida). His siblings are two older brothers, three older sisters, and one younger sister. Floyd’s mother was a schoolteacher, and his paternal grandfather was a dredge boat operator. His mother’s family were shrimpers. He is married to Rhonda Olier Floyd (born November 7, 1956, in South Korea).

Jennifer M. Buchanan is an educator at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, serving as the education coordinator. She has been involved in oral history projects, particularly focused on capturing the experiences and knowledge of individuals with a deep understanding of the coastal areas. Buchanan's work involves collaborating with researchers to design and conduct studies to understand significant events and changes in the coastal environment.

Mr. Joseph D. Jewel (b. 1957) is deputy director of the Office of Marine Fisheries at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. He was born in 1959 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the small fishing community in east Biloxi known as the Point. His parents were Mr. Thomas Jewell and Mrs. Betty Jane Seymour Jewell. He was the second son in a family of six sons and one daughter. Following the return of his parents to his father’s ancestral home in Oregon, Joe was raised by his maternal grandparents in a commercial fishing family.

Leslie Hood is a commercial fisherman in Long Beach, Mississippi.