Matt Frassica

Interviewee Collection Sort descending Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Marcia Beal Brazer Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Marcia Beal Brazer, from Ogunquit, ME, shares a personal story about her husband Norman Brazer, a lobsterman, who got tangled in a lobster buoy rope and fell overboard while fishing near Boon Island, ME. N. Brazer was lucky that he was carrying a knife and was able to untangle himself; however, when he surfaced, he could not find his boat. Luckily, another lobsterman, Mark Sewell, noticed N. Brazer’s body floating and took him to the hospital. After three rounds of CPR, N. Brazer finally responded.

Matt Frassica, Corina Gribble Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Marina Cucuzza Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Marina Cucuzza, a marine researcher from Boston, MA, is currently working on her thesis which assesses the capacity for sustainability in coastal communities. She discusses buzz words such as resilience and sustainability which she finds important to define and what she has come across in her projects so far.

Matt Frassica, Corina Gribble Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Patrick Shepard Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Patrick Shepard works for the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries and was born in Stonington, ME. He talks about his experiences growing up in a fishing family and lobstering with his brother from a very young age. He also speaks about the changes he sees in his hometown and what the future of fishing in Maine might hold, particularly in finding ways to make more money from a smaller amount of high quality product.

Galen Koch, Matt Frassica, Kaitlyn Clark Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Paul Molyneaux Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Paul Molyneaux, an author, journalist, and former urchin harvester and fisherman from Milbridge, ME, speaks about the capitalism and economics of the fishing industry. He also speaks about his experiences winkling for periwinkle snails and diving for sea urchins as well as participating in the governance of the sea urchin fishery.

Matt Frassica Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Chris Bartlett Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Chris Bartlett, a marine extension associate with the University of Maine Sea Grant from Eastport, ME, whose work has focused on commercial fishing and aquaculture, speaks about the economic and social changes in Eastport during his time there.

Matt Frassica, Galen Koch, Kaitlyn Clark Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Dan Harriman Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Dan Harriman is a fisherman who operates the state’s last mackerel weir in Cape Elizabeth, ME. His family came to the US from Denmark in the 1980s. He speaks about his experience fishing and discusses the issues he sees in the fishing industry such as unsustainability and lack of access. He believes these challenges stem from knowledge not being passed between generations and suggests that change needs to come from the bottom up.

Galen Koch, Matt Frassica Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
David, Cynthia, and Emily Thomas Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

David, Cynthia, and Emily Thomas are from Islesford, Cranberry Islands, ME. David is a retired school teacher and lobsterman, Cynthia works at the island library, and their daughter Emily attended college and now works in Nova Scotia, CA, though she grew up on the Cranberry Islands. They speak about the diversification of Islesford, temperature impacting the location of lobsters, and changes in island life, such as setting up reliable internet service but losing the island store.

Matt Frassica, Teagan White Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Donald Wagner Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

John McMillan, the owner of McMillan Offshore Survival Training and resident of Belfast, ME, and Don Wagner, one of his employees, offer the Drill Conductor Course to lobstermen. Both focus on the importance of safety training in the lobster industry and include stories of the gratitude people have expressed at knowing what to do in emergency situations, particularly when their training was able to save multiple lives.

Matt Frassica, Kaitlyn Clark Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
John McMillan Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

John McMillan, the owner of McMillan Offshore Survival Training and resident of Belfast, ME, and Don Wagner, one of his employees, offer the Drill Conductor Course to lobstermen. Both focus on the importance of safety training in the lobster industry and include stories of the gratitude people have expressed at knowing what to do in emergency situations, particularly when their training was able to save multiple lives.

Matt Frassica, Kaitlyn Clark Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Krista Tripp Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Krista Tripp, a lobsterman from Spruce Head, ME, speaks about her childhood experiences fishing, going through the lobster apprenticeship program, and how her grandfather supported her desire to become a lobsterman.

Matt Frassica, Teagan White Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute