Jonathan (Jon) Hare was born and raised in upstate New York. He completed his graduate work at SUNY Stony Brook. His dissertation focused on bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). He completed his post-doctoral work at the NMFS lab in Beaufort, North Carolina working on recruitment dynamics of several species. After seven years, he moved to the Narragansett Lab in 2005 where he became head of the Oceanography Program, a position he still holds as of this interview.

William Overholtz was born and raised in Lima, Ohio. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in fresh waters fisheries and limnology from Ohio State and his Ph.D. from Oregon State. He began his career with the Fish and Wildlife Service at Rock Island, Illinois. In 1976, Overholtz began working at Woods Hole and completed many survey cruises on various foreign vessels His work focused on groundfish and herring. He spent time in the population dynamics group as well as working on acoustic surveys and assessment modeling. He retired from NMFS after 34 years of service.

David Pierce was born and raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Being from New Bedford, he had an interest in the ocean and the fisheries from a young age. He received his bachelors from SMU (Southeastern Massachusetts University) now University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He also received his Master's in Marine Biology from SMU in 1982. He received his PhD from University of Massachusetts Boston in 1996. He began working for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries in 1972.

Jerry Prezioso was born on February 27, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University and his master‟s from the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography. Jerry began working at the NOAA Laboratory in Narragansett, Rhode Island in 1974 and continues to work there as an oceanographer to this day. 

Kenneth Sherman was born on October 6, 1932 and was raised in Boston, Massachusetts.In his early years, he would spend time with his father at the local Boston Fish Pier to observe the fishermen. He graduated from Suffolk University with the idea of attending law school. A mentor guided him towards biological sciences so he applied to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He taught in western Massachusetts for the Audubon Society before he began his career at the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1956.

Edie Mikina was born in Angola, in West Africa, of Portuguese heritage and came to the US in 1970.  She is the owner of Edie and Marie Boat Settlements in New Bedford, which handles accounting work for fishing vessels out of New Bedford and Fairhaven, which she describes as “one business handling 50 businesses.”  She talks about her work and services to fishermen, especially to Portuguese clients, and contrasts past and present in the boat settlement business and in the industry.  This is a lively and informative interview and conveys a gre

Eoin Rochford is the Plant Manager of the Northern Pelagic Group (NORPEL) fish processing plant in New Bedford, MA. In this interview he discusses the evolution of the fishing industry in New Bedford and New England. He also explains his personal history and career, including his time working as an engineer on fishing boats, fishing in Alaska, updating fishing boats, working at the NORPEL plant in New Bedford, and exporting fish to Nigeria. Mr.

Jaqueline Rua has worked at Norpel for four years and has ambitions to be in management. She describes working conditions, learning English on the job and changes that have occurred in the four years on the job. She has a vast knowledge of types of fish and the packing process. She also trains Spanish speakers who are hired as temps during peak seasons.

Jaime Rivera was born in Puerto Rico in 1989. He came to New Bedford in 2006 and found a job at Norpel in 2007. He describes working his way up from packer to nightshift supervisor. He speaks about learning to work on new equipment, temporary and permanent workers, and that his work is not easy but he likes all of it.

James Lopes, fifty-six years old, has been involved in the fishing industry since he was a teenager. He began his career as a ‘Night Rider,’ then had his own business, Ocean Obsession, Ltd, and currently works for Norpel as a production manager. He discusses the rewards and challenges of working on the waterfront, a typical day at Norpel,  the “cast of characters” he has worked with throughout the years, and the changes he has seen in the industry and the New Bedford area over the years.