On July 31, 2011, Sara Randall interviewed Benjamin F. Crocker for the "Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities" project. The interview, conducted in Tenants Harbor, Maine, explores Crocker’s extensive experience in the fishing industry, beginning with clamming at age 8 and lobster fishing at age 11. Crocker discusses his family background in Machiasport, Maine, his lack of familial ties to fishing, and the influence of trial-and-error learning on his career.

Clifford D. West, born on December 23, 1942, in Steuben, is a seasoned commercial fisherman who began his career at the tender age of ten in 1954. He comes from a lineage of fishermen, with both his father and grandfather involved in the industry. Clifford's family, including his wife, who hails from a fishing family in Milbridge, has been instrumental in his fishing business. He has three children, none of whom are involved in fishing.

Dan W. Miller, born in 1949, in Waterville, Maine, is a seasoned commercial fisherman with a rich history in the industry. He began his fishing career at a young age, obtaining his own lobstering license and boat at around seven years old. His commercial fishing journey started in the early 1970s. Despite not coming from a fishing family, Miller grew up in Cape Porpoise, a small harbor fishing community in Southern Maine, which is part of the town of Kennebunkport. He is a first-generation Mainer, with his father hailing from New Jersey and his mother from Massachusetts.

Dana Rice, born in 1948, is a former groundfisherman from Birch Harbor, Maine. He began his fishing career in 1957, tub trawling with his family. Rice describes the fishing community of his time as subsistence living, with most families making enough to live comfortably but not able to accumulate much in savings. Groundfishing was only a small part of Rice's income, making up less than ten percent before he left the fishery in 1982.

Interview with fisherman Leonard E. Young, III, born September 9, 1944 in Bar Harbor, Maine. Young describes his entry into the commercial fisheries and discusses both lobstering and groundfish fishing.
 

Richard Bridges is a seasoned commercial fisherman from Stonington, Maine. He began his fishing career at a young age, setting 150 traps when he was just seven years old, alongside his best friend who was eight at the time. His family, originally from Swan's Island, moved to Connecticut for work during the war but returned to Maine when Bridges was born, believing it was a better place for a boy to grow up. Bridges started groundfishing commercially in 1964, and gill-netted out of Stonington from 1974 until 1984.

Stanley Sargent, born in 1965 in Stonington, Maine, is a seasoned commercial fisherman hailing from the rugged coastlines of Maine, a state renowned for its rich maritime heritage. Born into a family with deep roots in the fishing industry, Sargent's life has been inextricably linked to the sea from an early age. His forebears were among the hardy souls who braved the Atlantic's capricious moods to haul in the bounties of the ocean, passing down their knowledge and passion for the craft through generations.

Interview with William R. Modden, born July 21, 1934 in Bar Harbor, Maine. Modden began fishing commercially in 1952 at the age of 18. He participated in the scallop and groundfish fisheries in Maine and Massachusetts.