Kevin Curole
The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project
The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project is an ongoing oral history project documenting the history and culture of the commercial fishing industry and other port trades. The project was begun in 2004 in conjunction with the Working Waterfront Festival, an annual, education celebration of commercial fishing culture which takes place in New Bedford, MA. Interviewees have included a wide range of individuals connected to the commercial fishing industry and/or other aspects of the port through work or familial ties. While the majority of interviewees are from the port of New Bedford, the project has also documented numerous individuals from other ports around the country. Folklorist and Festival Director Laura Orleans and Community Scholar/Associate Director Kirsten Bendiksen are Project Leaders. The original recordings reside at the National Council for the Traditional Arts in Maryland with listening copies housed at the Festival's New Bedford office.
Kevin Curole is a seasoned fisherman with a career spanning 37 years in the shrimp industry. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Curole grew up in Baie L'Fuje, Guiana, and is of Cajun ethnicity. His family has a long history in the fishing industry, with both his father and grandfathers being shrimp fishermen. Curole started his journey in the industry at the tender age of three, living on a 22-foot shrimp boat with his grandparents. In addition to his fishing career, Curole has also worked as a support boat driver for the offshore oil industry in Louisiana. He is known for his advocacy for the domestic fishery, working alongside his wife, Margaret, to highlight the impact of imports on the domestic shrimp industry. Curole is also a skilled craftsman, creating jewelry from organic materials like bones.
Scope and Content Note:
This interview with Kevin Curole, conducted by Madeleine Hall-Arber on September 28, 2013, provides an in-depth look into Curole's life and career as a shrimper in Louisiana. Curole discusses his early life, his family's history in the fishing industry, and his experiences living on a shrimp boat. He also talks about the impact of imports on the domestic shrimp industry and his advocacy work for the domestic fishery. In addition, Curole shares his experiences working in the offshore oil industry in Louisiana and the changes he has witnessed in the working waterfront due to the oil industry and property development. He also discusses his hobby of crafting jewelry from organic materials, including bones and deer antlers. The interview provides valuable insights into the social and cultural characteristics of fishing in the Gulf Coast, the shrimp fishery, and the Gulf Coast oil industry. It also touches on the use of gear and fishing technology.
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