Richie Maderia
Southern New England American Lobster Fishery Oral History Project
This project collects oral histories from lobstermen and resource managers in Connecticut and New York.
Born into a fishing family in Stonington, Ct., Richie Maderia had his first experiences on a boat at the age of 9 before becoming a professional lobster fisherman after high school. Maderia’s experiences running a lobster fishing boat allowed him to see the industry boom in the 1980s through to the late 1990s when he began to see the lobsters — and the industry — die out. Maderia is passionate about the politics and policies surrounding both the lobster and fishing industries, and has witnessed the effect that regulations have had on the fishermen who work on Long Island Sound, as well as on the ecosystem itself. Now working as a seafood wholesaler in Stonington, Maderia’s son carries on the tradition of the family lobster fishing business.
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