Paul Molyneaux
Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities
This project developed a participatory, place-based approach for assessing the vulnerability and resilience of Maine fishing communities, documenting threats and resources available to respond to those threats. To understand the forces driving vulnerability, Johnson and graduate students Cameron Thompson and Anna Henry worked with community stakeholders to identify opportunities and strategies for improving resilience of fishing communities. They produced a summary report, entitled, “In Their Own Words: Fishermen’s Perspectives of Community Resilience.”
Once upon a time, Maine fishermen and women harvested a diversity of species, from groundfish and herring to lobsters, clams, shrimp, and scallops, depending on market conditions and resource abundance. Today, Maine’s fishing culture is concentrated in 50 coastal communities and is overwhelmingly dependent on lobster, while regulations have restricted other fisheries. Since 1990, the number of vessels landing groundfish in Maine dropped from 350 to 70. At least 72 groundfish permits have been lost, and dramatic changes in management are imminent, leading Johnson to wonder, “How vulnerable are Maine’s fishing communities? What can be done to improve their resiliency to future change?”
These are the questions that federal fisheries managers must ask when assessing the impact of new rules, yet too often they don’t have the right data to answer the questions. This project developed a participatory, place-based approach for assessing the vulnerability and resilience of Maine fishing communities, documenting threats and resources available to respond to those threats. To understand the forces driving vulnerability, Johnson and graduate students Cameron Thompson and Anna Henry worked with community stakeholders to identify opportunities and strategies for improving resilience of fishing communities.
Paul Molyneaux was born in 1958 and has lived in various parts of Maine, including East Machias, Trescott, and Eastport. He began his career in the fishing industry in 1975, initially working in Key West, Florida, where he was involved in shrimp processing. In 1981, he moved to Maine and started fishing out of Rockland on groundfish and sword fishing draggers [4]. He also worked on scalloping during the wintertime. In 1986, Molyneaux moved to Eastern Maine to run the fish processing plant, Passamaquoddy Quality Seafood and Fillet, located on the Passamaquoddy Reservation. Despite his extensive involvement in the fishing industry, none of his immediate family members were involved in fisheries. Molyneaux is not actively fishing anymore, but he still considers it a great life and would encourage his children to go into fishing if they could get their ducks lined up.
Scope and Content Note
This interview with Paul Molyneaux, conducted by Kevin Athearn on July 2, 2012, provides a detailed account of Molyneaux's life and career in the fishing industry. The interview begins with Molyneaux's early years in the industry, starting with shrimp processing in Key West, Florida in 1975. It then moves on to his time fishing out of Rockland, Maine, from 1981, where he worked on groundfish and sword fishing draggers, and scalloping during the wintertime. In 1986, Molyneaux moved to Eastern Maine to run a fish processing plant on the Passamaquoddy Reservation. The interview also touches on the changes Molyneaux has observed in the fishing industry over the years, including shifts in fish populations and advancements in fishing gear. Molyneaux also discusses his views on the future of the industry, stating that he would encourage his children to go into fishing if they could get their ducks lined up. The interview concludes with Molyneaux reflecting on the small fleet of fishermen in Eastport when he arrived in 1985.
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