Anthony Calabrese was born in Providence, RI on February 25, 1937. Growing up, he was interested in fishing and the ocean. Dr. Calabrese earned his masters at Auburn University in Alabama, and later earned his PhD in Zoology/Ecology from the University of Connecticut. He began his career at the Milford Laboratory in 1963. His early research focused on the effects of pollution on shellfish and he brought his expertise to EPA committees he served on. He published over 70 reports and publications and founded the Flatfish Biology Conference in 1986.

Antonio (Tony) Macedo was born on September 7, 1970, in San Miguel, one of the islands of Azores, Portugal. He immigrated to New Bedford, United States, in 1978 at the age of seven. After living in New Bedford for four years, he moved to Acushnet. Macedo is a marine carpenter by profession and has a rich ethnic background of Portuguese. He learned the shipbuilding trade on the job and eventually bought his own business. He has spent his career building and repairing wooden ships by hand, a craft he learned during his teen years.

Chad Joseph Bergeron was born on August 28, 1978, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He grew up in New Bedford and has a deep-rooted connection to the fishing industry through his family. His grandfather, a fisherman for over thirty years, was the one who introduced the family to the industry. Bergeron's father also worked in the industry, initially helping his grandfather by lumping boats. Bergeron continues the family tradition, working in the New Bedford fishing industry.

Edwin Rhodes was born in Milford, Connecticut on March 4, 1943. During high school, he visited the Milford Lab to ask about a science project. He met Victor Loosanoff, the Lab Director, who became a mentor. Ed began working at the lab in 1959 as a high school junior and continued to work there until about 1970. After a brief break, he returned to the lab from 1971 to 1989. He rejoined NOAA as the Aquaculture Coordinator from 1997 to 2001. He has spent his entire career, both in the public and private sectors, working on aquaculture and shellfish. 

Gary Wikfors was born in Weehawken, NJ. After receiving his B.S. in biology at the University of Maine, Wikfors became interested in phycology. He began working at the Milford Laboratory in 1976 while earning his Master's at the University of Bridgeport. He later earned his PhD at the University of Connecticut while continuing to work at the lab. He is now the Branch Chief of the Aquaculture Sustainability Assessment Branch at the Milford Lab.

Gunnar Gundersen describes his work as the head of Scandia Propeller Services and Supply, Inc. located in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Scandia works on marine propellers and hydraulics. Gunnar is thirty-seven years old and is a third generation worker in this family-owned business. His great-grandfather immigrated to the United States from Norway and founded the company in 1961.  He has been working at the company since he was sixteen years old. His father recently retired from the day-to-day business operations and Gunnar has stepped in and now heads the company.

Joe Moniz first came to the States as a soccer player. Later he emigrated to New Bedford from St. Michael in the Azores, where he’d been a farmer, as were most of his family. He’s been a lumper for many years, although he started out in construction for five years before lumping. He talks about the work of a lumper and the process of unloading boats, changes in the industry and in boats and technology and its effects on the job, changes in kinds and hauls of fish, and his love for the independence of the work.

Jeff Ferreira is a 50-year-old supervisor of F & B Rubberized in New Bedford, MA, a company that specializes in tire recycling for use in the fishing industry. In this interview, he describes the history of the company, his job at F & B Rubberized, and the uses of recycled tires in the fishing industry.  He speaks about his company notably as a family business and what he hopes for the future of fishing and tire recycling.  

Jose “Joe” Magalhaes describes his work as a paint shop foreman for the Fairhaven Shipyard located in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He is a Portuguese immigrant who is fifty-seven and has been working at Fairhaven Shipyard since he left high school at sixteen years old. He talks about how he got started “back in the day” and learned his craft from his highly skilled co-workers.

Kirsten Bendiksen talks about her work in her family’s business, Reidar’s Manufacturing, a gear manufactory/support industry in New Bedford, formerly in Fairhaven. Talks about her Norwegian immigrant heritage and marrying a Norwegian fisherman, and later starting their busy gear shop, one of the few left to serve the industry. Kirsten works as bookkeeper in the business, which also employs her husband and their two sons and other workers.