Matt Frassica

Interviewee Collection Sort descending Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
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
Chris Petersen Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019

Chris Petersen, a professor of biology and ecology at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, ME.  He has worked with undergraduates on Mount Desert Island, at multiple locations in the Caribbean, and the Pacific Northwest, and is currently collaborating with researchers with several groups in Maine including the Penobscot East, the University of Maine, and Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory.

Matt Frassica, Griffin Pollock Rockland, ME Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute, Maine Fishermen’s Forum
Butch Harris Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019

Butch Harris is a seasoned fisherman and summertime charter captain from Eastport, Maine. He has spent the majority of his life engaging in lobstering, scalloping, and urchin diving. 

Scope and Content Note

Matt Frassica, Griffin Pollock Rockland, ME Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute, Maine Fishermen’s Forum
Sam Belknap Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019

Sam Belknap, a project leader at the Island Institute from Damariscotta, ME. He is an anthropologist and climate scientist with a background in fishing. He currently works in the nonprofit sector because he wanted to engage in applied work that could bring about real-world change more quickly than academia or the policy world.

Scope and Content Note

Matt Frassica Rockland, ME Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute, Maine Fishermen’s Forum
Bruce Bourque Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019

Bruce Bourque lives in Freeport, ME, where he has taught archaeology and conducted research at Bates College since 1972. Now retired from teaching, he is working on a documentary film on the history of Maine's fisheries. Bourque came to the state originally to study Maine's prehistory, the period before 1600, and the people that lived on this coast. He was able to collaborate with others to combine this archaeological record with more recent accounts of fisheries history to build a longer timescale of context for how the Gulf of Maine has been changing.

Matt Frassica Rockland, ME Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute, Maine Fishermen’s Forum
Alex DeKoning Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019

Alex DeKoning, a mussel farmer based out of Bar Harbor, ME, is the son of seventh generation mussel farmers from Holland. His family has been farming mussels in the Netherlands since the 1750s. However, due to limited expansion opportunities there, they decided to explore other regions and eventually settled in Maine. DeKoning and his family run the only mussel farms in North America that farm mussels on the bottom instead of on ropes.

Matt Frassica Rockland, ME Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute, Maine Fishermen’s Forum
Jessica Echard and Rebecca Weil Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019

Jessica Echard and Rebecca Weil, from Cooperstown, NY, both work for the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety as a research assistant and research coordinator, respectively. Their main project has been working with fishermen to increase their use of lifejackets while fishing. They have focused on talking with fishermen about why they choose not to use lifejackets, what their concerns are, and how they can help improve lifejacket design to make them more appropriate for the job.

Matt Frassica Rockland, ME Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute, Maine Fishermen’s Forum
Chad Libby, Jr. Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019

Chad Libby is in the 11th grade at Jonesport Beals High School. He has been a lobster fisherman for as long as he can remember. His goals for the future include to lobster fish, worm, and clam, and attend college for auto mechanics. 

Scope and Content Note

Matt Frassica Rockland, ME Maine Sea Grant
Sarah Madronal Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019

Sarah Madronal is a fisheries biologist from Cutler, ME. With a background in policy studies, she has focused her work on understanding the social structures and cultural significance surrounding fisheries, particularly alewives.

Scope and Content Note

Matt Frassica Rockland, ME Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute, Maine Fishermen’s Forum
Russell Kingman Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019

Russell Kingman grew up in Denis, a few towns over from Chatham, MA where he is now a weir fisherman and fisheries advocate. He has also done work as a clammer and a coast guard safety trainer, specializing in training fishermen in survival at sea. He is involved in local bands Poi Dog Pondering and SeaFire Kids, which focuses on fisheries music.

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