Sarah Fortin describes herself as “a Jane of all trades.” She’s now 29 and has been working at Reidar’s since she was in high school, first starting part time after school to learn specific skills, and then went full time and has been there ever since.

Sylvester Dixon became a charter fishing guide after the 1990s net ban, previously he was a commercial fisherman. From a young age, he honed his skills and knowledge of fishing, eventually becoming a guide fisherman with over 20 years of experience. 

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Tim is a native of Tampa, Florida and the son of school teachers. He graduated from Florida State University in Marine Biology. Earning two graduate degrees at Louisiana State University, he was awarded a Fellowship in the NOAA Sea Grant Program and worked as a staffer in the U.S. Senate.

Todd Bragdon is a resident of Danielson, Connecticut and has been a commercial fishermen since 1982 out of Alaska, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, Owner/Operator Oneonta Fisheries Inc. Todd born on April 23, 1964, in Windham, Connecticut, spent his early years on a hog farm in Scotland, Connecticut. His family moved to Iowa when he was two years old, but returned to Connecticut in 1968.

Tom Marvel is a grouper fisher who has lived in Naples since 1969. 

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Tomas Calil is from Guatemala and is a supervisor at Bergie’s Seafood.  He has been working at Bergie’s for 15 years and knows all aspects of production at the plant.

This oral history was produced in 2017 as part of the Workers on the Waterfront Oral History Project conducted by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center with funding from an Archie Green Fellowship provided by the Library of Congress.

Tommy Locke was born in Webster, Florida. He has been fishing his entire life but started his career in Homosassa as a charter captain.

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Tor Bendiksen discusses what it’s like to be involved in a family-owned business that manufactures fishing gear such as nets and trawls for commercial fishermen. He made his first fishing trip at the age of thirteen aboard his father’s trawler. He understands from first-hand experience how fishing gear works and the needs of his customers. He discusses how fishing regulations have evolved from when he first stated fishing to what they are today. The regulations have a tremendous impact on how he designs his custom fishing gear.

Valeriano Garcia is from Guatemala and his job is an essential part of the fishing industry in New Bedford. He shares experiences working at a warehouse and skills that are required.

This oral history was produced in 2017 as part of the Workers on the Waterfront Oral History Project conducted by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center with funding from an Archie Green Fellowship provided by the Library of Congress.

Van Hubbard grew up in the Tampa Bay area. He used to net fish until the ban and got his captain’s license in 1976 and started chartering. He used to fish offshore but now he fishes inshore. His main target species are trout, redfish, king mackerel, kingfish, and Spanish mackerel. 

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Wayton Mills is a fourth-generation fishing guide and charter boat captain who has been leading fishing trips in the Boca Grande for 26 years. Initially focused on charter fishing, including both offshore and inshore fishing, Mills also engaged in stone crabbing until logistical challenges and distant buyers led him to discontinue it in 2017. 

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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.

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.

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. 

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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.

Christopher Knight, 27 years old at the time of the interview, is a lobster boat deckhand in Matinicus and Spruce Head, ME. As a son and grandson of fishermen, he started fishing in the single digits. Unfortunately, a house fire destroyed the documentation of his student lobstering hours just before he turned eighteen, putting a fulltime commercial lobster license out of reach for him. Despite this setback, Christopher has continued to work as a fulltime fisherman.

Crystal Jordan, 33 years old at the time of the interview, is the owner-operator of a blue crab and oyster vessel in Solomon's Island, MD. As the daughter of a fishermen, she grew up on the water, and took over her father's operation at the age of 20 when he passed away from cancer. Her vessel is called "Some Beach." 

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Daniel Devereaux, from Brunswick, ME, is harbor master, clam warden, and cofounder of Mere Point Oyster Company in Maquoit Bay.

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Dustin Delano, 28 years old at the time of the interview, is owner-operator of the F/V Knotty Lady, a lobster boat out of Friendship, Maine. Dustin started fishing at age 11, the fourth generation in his family to follow this line of work. After taking a meandering path through higher education, he wound up back in his hometown doing what he loves: lobstering. He is one of several captains to capitalize on ecological changes by developing a menhaden seine fishery in Midcoast Maine.

Dustin Westman, 32 years old at the time of the interview, is a crab, oyster, and gillnet fisherman in Heathsville, Virginia. He started fishing with his dad at age 4, and by age 12, he had his own boat.

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Eben Nieuwkerk, 29 years old at the time of the interview, is the owner-operator of two gillnet and lobster boats in Portland and Kennebunkport, ME.

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Gus Lovgren, 33 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain and crewmember on the F/V Kailey Ann in Point Pleasant, NJ. Gus is the fourth generation in his family to fish East Coast waters, but maybe not the last: his five-year-old daughter has dreams of carrying on the family legacy, someday.

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Hallie Arno, originally from New Jersey, moved to Lincolnville, Maine, and developed a strong connection to the ocean. She was a student at College of the Atlantic (COA) in Bar Harbor, ME at the time of this interview.

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Herbert Carter Jr. is a commercial shellfish harvester from Deer Isle, ME.

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Interview with Dennis S. Walts, former NWS Meteorologist assigned to the Forecast Systems Laboratory AWIPS Development Team
Interview conducted June 2010
Run time: 40:35
Topics: PROFS, AWIPS, Role of Research

Interview with Douglas H. Sargeant, former Director, NWS Headquarters Office of Systems Development
Interview conducted August 2010
Run time: 1:37:25
Topics: GARP, Development of observational technologies, NWS Modernization Systems Development

Interview with Elbert W. “Joe” Friday, Jr., former NOAA Assistant Administrator for Weather Services/Director, National Weather Service
Interview conducted January 2010
Run time: 47:06
Topics: NWS Modernization Process, NEXRAD, AWIPS, Restructuring Field Offices

Interview with Louis J. Boezi, former NWS Deputy Director for Modernization and Associated Restructuring         
Interview conducted May 2010 and March 2011
Topics: AFOS, AWIPS, NEXRAD, Transitioning to new technologies

Interview with Mary M. Glackin, NOAA Deputy Under Secretary, former AWIPS Program Manager
Interview conducted June 2010
Run time: 15:20
Topics: PROFS, AWIPS, long view of the NWS Modernization

Interview with Robert J. Serafin, Director, National Center for Atmospheric Research and former Chairman, National Academy of Sciences NWS Modernization Committee
Interview conducted June 2010
Run time: 46:45
Topics: National Academy of Science’s NWS Modernization Committee, NEXRAD, ASOS, AWIPS, GOES

Interview with: Carl S. Bullock, Meteorologist with the Forecast Systems Laboratory AWIPS Development
Interview conducted June 2010
Run time: 1:04:36
Topics:  PROFS, AWIPS Requirements, the people behind AWIPS and the modernization

Interviews about fishing in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Dates: February 10, 2020 - April 27, 2017 and July 2000.

Locations: Port Allen, Kauai; Honolulu, O‘ahu; Waikulu, Maui; Kona, Hawai‘i Island, HI; Midway Island; Maalaea, Maui

Jake Eaton, 26 years old at the time of the interview, works as his father-in-law's sternman on the F/V Last Penny and operator of a lobster skiff, the F/V Eyesore in Portsmouth, NH. He comes from a long line of fishing families in Downeast Maine, and he finds it fulfilling to continue the family tradition. He grew up in Seacoast New Hampshire and went to high school in Dover. His father and grandfather were involved in fishing, with his grandfather being a lobsterman.

Jake Griffin, 27 years old at the time of the interview, is a North Carolina fisherman specializing in niche fisheries such as shark fishing and the haul seine fishery (a traditional method of fishing from the beach with a skiff and a truck). Located at an ecological boundary, he targets various populations of sharks as they migrate down from the North and up from the South throughout the year. Jake's biggest worry is that public misunderstanding about the shark fishery will lead to management measures that shut him out of the fisheries he has invested in.

James Leonard, 34 years old at the time of the interview, is the owner-operator of the F/V Briana James, an inshore dragger in Point Judith, RI. James comes from a fishing family and spent his twenties working on large offshore freezer vessels to save money. Then, with indispensable moral support from his wife and the boat-building expertise of his extended family, he brought a boat down from Nova Scotia and spent over a year rebuilding it for dragging in Rhode Island.

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James Reilly, 33 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain of a clam vessel based out of Oceanside, NY and Atlantic City, NJ. James grew up on Long Island as the son of a fisherman, and despite discouragement from his mother, he wound up working as crew for his father and then taking over his father's captain job when his father retired. He operates the fishing vessel Ocean Girl, targeting surf clams and ocean quahogs with hydraulic dredges. 

Jared Bennett, 29 years old at the time of the interview, is owner-operator of the F/V White Cap, a gillnet vessel, with his younger brother and a friend, going on 36-hour fishing trips targeting monkfish, skates, and dogfish out of Chatham and Harwichport, MA. Jared bought his gillnet license and started fishing without any prior experience as a deckhand. 

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.

Joe Kowalsky, 31 years old at the time of the interview, is an oyster farmer and fishermen in Milford, Bridgeport, and Stratford, CT. He owns and operates multiple boats, including the Sea Skimmer, LeClair, Mohawk, and a Carolina skiff. Joe is primarily focused on oyster farming but also engages in wild fisheries for additional income. He found his way to fishing after putting aside societal notions that there is no money to be made on the water.

John Cox, is a clam manager in Jonesboro, ME.

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Kelsey Aiken, 29 years old at the time of the interview, is a fisherman and co-manager (along with his brother) of a fish packing house in Hatteras, NC founded by his father. The company focuses mainly on gillnet fishing for flounder and sells a range of seafood caught in the Pamlico Sound and the ocean to a variety of markets, including New York's Fulton Fish Market, Boston, Canada, California, and local outlets.

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Ken Murgo, 31 years old at the time of his interview, is a diversified fisherman in Narragansett Bay, RI. With his father, Ken fishes for conchs, lobsters, quahogs, and a variety of different finfish on the F/V Johnny B. In his interview, he talks about his parents' expectations that he would enter medical school after college, his inevitable return to full-time fishing in spite of these expectations, and the interest he feels in fisheries science and cooperative research.

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Lenny Russo, 27 years old at the time of his interview, describes working as the relief captain of a fleet boat in Portland, ME, after growing up working on a family fishing boat in Gloucester MA. Lenny is also the owner-operator of a seasonal salmon gillnet vessel in Bristol Bay, AK. 

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Lucas Raymond, 28 years old at the time of the interview, is a deckhand and relief captain on the F/V Witchcraft in Rye, NH.

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Lyle Peele, 29 years old at the time of the interview, is a fifth generation waterman in Manteo, NC. Lyle and his family have seen the industry change, and his feelings about it are complex. He owns three boats and has diversified his fishing methods to adapt to changing conditions.

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Matthew Peabody, 30 years old at the time of the interview, is a scallop boat captain out of Newport News, VA. He's the fourth generation in his family to work on the water. Matthew's family sold their fleet of scallop boats to Blue Harvest, a company that has expanded into a larger fleet. He now operates two scallop boats for that company, the Blue Canyon and the Blue Cove.

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Mike Blanton, 33 years old at the time of the interview, is a blue crab and gillnet fisherman in Elizabeth City, NC. Mike operates multiple vessels for different fisheries in the Albemarle Sound area. He started fishing as a teenager after taking a summer job at a crab house. After a decade in the military and government contracting, he returned to the coast to fish full-time.

Mr. Irvin Eugene Stork is a retired commercial fisherman. Stork was born on April 23, 1932, in Moss Point, Mississippi, to Mr. Henry W. Stork, a commercial fisherman, and Mrs. Hattie B. Clark Stork. At the time of this interview, Mr. Stork had retired from Dow Chemical Plant and from commercial fishing. He was graduated from high school, after making the All State Basketball team, and he became a captain in the Army during his military service. He enjoys gardening and fishing in his retirement.

Mr. Daniel Nguyen is the environmental justice coordinator for the Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation in New Orleans Versailles Community. He also currently serves as the project manager for the Viet Village Urban Farm and Sustainable Aquaculture Park, managing daily activities and helping to organize community fisherfolk and gardeners in a cooperative effort to market their goods to local New Orleans restaurants.

Nicole Saunders, 20 years old at the time of the interview, oysters and charter fishes with her father in Weems, VA. With the exception of a semester of college, which didn't captivate her attention, Nicole has spent her entire life around the water. Nicole's family has a long history in the waterman profession, with her dad and his grandfather being watermen.

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Parker Poole, 31 years old at the time of the interview, runs a marine salvage and towing business and fishes commercially on the side in Portland, ME. Despite lobstering in high school, he did not log enough hours to meet the qualification criteria to receive a Maine lobster license, so he made the decision not to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time fisherman.

Patrick Fehily, 29 years old at the time of the interview, owns and manages several lobster, gillnet, and scallop boats in Point Pleasant, NJ. Pat did not grow up in a fishing family, but after working as a lobsterboat deckhand in high school and failing to light his spark at college, he decided that fishing was the life for him.

Paul Anderson is a scientist and executive director for the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries from Winterport, ME.

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Peyton Mason, 23 years old at the time of his interivew, is an oyster and crab fisherman in Deep Creek, VA. Peyton didn't grow up fishing, but fell in love with it in 8th grade after watching other fishermen come in with their catch. It was not long before he obtained a waterman license, began harvesting oysters and crabs, and eventually built his way up to owning the F/V Emilie Virginia, a Chesapeake deadrise. But his ambitions don't stop there; Peyton has done stints on shrimping and scalloping boats to get exposure to fisheries in other areas, too.

Rodman Sykes is a seasoned commercial fisherman from Point Judith, Rhode Island. With 50 years of experience in the fishing industry, he represents the third generation of fishermen in his family. Sykes specializes in skate and ground fish.

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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.

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Scott Wivell, age 29 at the time of his interview, is a waterman in Cape Charles, VA. Scott grew up fishing with his father and is now the owner-operator of the F/V Lady Lynnae, which he uses for gillnettting, crabbing and oystering. Scott markets some of his own catch and thinks about having a retail market someday.

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Shana Kuhse, 24 years old at the time of the interview, is a deckhand and captain in Stonington, CT, where she mostly works on a lobster and conch boat but also fills in on draggers in the wintertime. Shana got her start in fishing as a bait stringer in high school, then worked her way into a crew job and now runs the boat part of the time. Shana hopes that participating in interviews like this one will help show the public and policy makers that the fishing industry is diverse and strongly committed to its future.

Shawn Goulart, 35 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain and deckhand based in Gloucester, MA. Shawn got into recreational fishing as a hobby in his early teens, and then quickly transitioned to commercial fishing, at a time when opportunities were plentiful in Gloucester. Since that time, he has seen the local groundfish fleet shrink, forcing him to spend months away each year fishing out of other East Coast ports to support his two young daughters.

Stephanie Hryzan, 35 years old at the time of the interview, is a deckhand on draggers in Point Judith, RI. Despite having a father in the industry, she did not grow up fishing and instead went to college before working in various sales jobs. However, she has always had a deep love of sea creatures, and after a year as a scallop observer, she decided in her early 30s to take part in the inaugural cohort of the Commercial Fisheries Center of RI's Commercial Fishing Apprenticeship Program. 

Tim Birarelli, Tom Birarelli, Robbie Budds (ages 21, 18, and 21 at the time of the interview) are lobstermen in Beverly, MA. Tim and Tom grew up lobstering with their father, who passed away when they were in their teens. They continued running and eventually expanding the family fishing businesses, and they supply fresh seafood to their mother's restaurant. Robbie met Tim through a hockey league while in high school, and the two brothers helped him get set up with a lobster boat and taught him everything they know.

Tim Sheehan a former teacher from Pembroke, ME, cofounded Gulf of Maine, Inc., a shellfish wholesaler.

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Toby Stephenson is a marine researcher and captain of the research vessel Osprey at the College of the Atlantic. With a background in whale research and a passion for marine mammal studies, Toby has dedicated his career to understanding the behavior and feeding habits of humpback, finback, and minke whales. Toby lives in Ellsworth, ME.

Tommy Testaverde, 34 years old at the time of the interview, is captain of his family's dragger, the F/V Midnight Sun, in Gloucester, MA.

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Tori Thomas, 29 years old at the time of the interview, is a deckhand in Point Judith, RI. Despite growing up far from the coast with no exposure to fisheries, she got a job as a fisheries observer after college, and then decided to try her luck as a deckhand.

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Tyler Chadwick, 22 years old at the time of the interview, is a waterman in Newport, NC and co-owner of Chadwick's Seafood, a business that focuses on providing fresh North Carolina seafood to customers.. Tyler and his best friend got into fishing together in their teens, and have continued fishing and marketing their catch together ever since.

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Willis Spears Jr. speaks about his 54 years as a commercial fisherman off of Cousins Island, ME, focusing on the history of shrimping, the differences between dragging and trapping shrimp, and the changes in the Portland working waterfront over his lifetime. He describes the interaction between fishermen and Portland authorities in their efforts to advocate for the fishing community’s needs and emphasizes the importance of passing information and knowledge to future generations.

Zack Davis, 35 years old at the time of the interview, is a shrimp fisherman, high school shop teacher, and net maker in Marshallberg, NC.

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Captain John Philip Falterman Jr. is owner-operator of Therapy Charters LLC, of Slidell, Louisiana, specializing in inland fishing in Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne, and the Biloxi Marsh.  Mr. Falterman was born November 25, 1974, in Fairbanks, Alaska, to Mr. John P. Falterman Sr. (born September 29, 1952, in New Orleans, Louisiana) and Mrs. Deborah Bays Falterman (born October 17, 1952, in New Orleans, Louisiana). His father is the owner of Johnny’s Welding Service in Kenner, Louisiana.

Carl Schwab, a retired fisherman from Port Clyde, ME, who was not born into a fishing family, speaks about how he began to summer in Maine and work on fishing boats. He speaks about his experiences fishing for different species such as lobster, herring, and shrimp and the differences in his personal experience of fishing with his children’s growing up in this way of life.

Cindy Pettway was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts and grew up in Rochester. She worked at a motorcycle shop and then in 1979 she began working at her father’s shop and has been working there since. She sells Caterpillar parts and engines to local fishermen with her husband. In this interview she describes how the industry has evolved and what her personal experience has been like.

Dr. Ed Rappaport was born in 1957 in Southern California. He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington.  Ed then received his Ph.D. with an emphasis in Atmospheric Science from Texas Tech University.  Dr. Rappaport began at NHC as a post-doctoral fellow for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Esther Ilutsik is the Director for Yup’ik Studies for the Southwest Region Schools in Dillingham, Alaska. She learned to set net fish as a child and commercial fished throughout her life at her family’s fish camp in Ekuk. In this interview Esther recounts her experiences of fishing with her mother and the social and environmental changes she has observed in Ekuk.

George V. Jackson, III (b. 1957) is a third-generation commercial fisherman working out of St. Bernard, Louisiana. He was born on February 13, 1957, in New Orleans, Louisiana to George Jackson Jr. (born September 28, 1934, in New Orleans) and Odurna Jackson (born December 12, 1937, in New Orleans). His father was a part-time commercial fisherman, concurrently with being a baker and a millwright. In the late 1960s, his father became a full-time commercial fisherman. His father’s family worked at Jackson Brewery in New Orleans and fished.

Henry Martinez is a commercial fisherman in the Louisiana wetlands. He was born on November 25, 1942, in Arabi, Louisiana, to Mr. Felipe Martinez Ortega (born on October 4, 1986, in Garrucha, Spain) and Mrs. Mary Molero Martinez (born on February 2, 1908, on Delacroix Island, Louisiana). His father was a fisherman in Spain and around Delacroix Island. As a young man he was a merchant marine and fisherman. His paternal grandparents were fishermen, and his maternal grandparents were farmers. His mother’s father was a fur trapper.

Hilton Floyd is a lifelong fisherman on the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mr. Hilton Floyd was born on September 15, 1956, in Jacksonville, Florida, to Mr. Hilton Floyd Sr. (born in Mayport, Florida) and Mrs. Helen Cooper Floyd (born in Mayport, Florida). His siblings are two older brothers, three older sisters, and one younger sister. Floyd’s mother was a schoolteacher, and his paternal grandfather was a dredge boat operator. His mother’s family were shrimpers. He is married to Rhonda Olier Floyd (born November 7, 1956, in South Korea).

In this interview, Virginia Martins discusses the challenges of being in the fishing industry, including the changes to the industry, the role of women in the fishing industry, and the role of climate change and technology in the fishing industry. She shares her personal work history and her experiences at Bay Fuels, Inc.

Jim Mercer is a 47 year old diver on the New Bedford/Fairhaven waterfront.  In this interview, he enthusiastically describes his job, how he became a commercial fishing boat diver, and why he enjoys his job and the waterfront community so much.  He speaks about the importance of having a diver’s assessment on the bottom of a commercial fishing boat and the process of doing an assessment.

Joanne Nelson has been a resident of Dillingham, Alaska, since 1952. She wrote Guide to the Birds of Southwest Alaska and has taught courses on home canning and smoking salmon through the Marine Advisory Program.  In this interview Joanne recounts her memories of moving from Idaho to Alaska as a young woman to work in a hand-pack cannery on Nushagak Bay. She also shares some of her knowledge of local medicinal plants and talks about her family’s experiences practicing subsistence.

Khang V. Dang is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in Biloxi, Mississippi. Mr. Khang V. Dang was born April 20, 1954, one of eleven children, in the port city of Vung Tau in southern Vietnam. Mr. Dang’s parents originated from the Go Cong district in the Mekong Delta region. He learned fishing and net making from his father and grandfather; his mother cooked and baked and sold her goods, along with fish and shrimp, in the market. Mr. Dang joined the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in 1971, serving as security for his home area of Vung Tau until 1975. Mr.

Le Van Dong is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Mr. Le Van Dong was born January 9, 1958, one of three children, in My Tho, South Vietnam. In 1968, Mr. Dong moved to the port city of Vung Tau, South Vietnam. Mr. Dong’s father was a guard in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army), and took responsibility for raising his young children upon the early death of Mr. Dong’s mother. Mr. Dong began catching and selling fish at the age of fourteen to help support his family. Mr.

Louis Lipps (b. 1950) is a crabber, owner of The Crab Trap Restaurant, and crab marketer Mr. Louis Lipps was born on September 24, 1950, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Joseph Lipps. After finishing high school, Lipps entered the seafood industry, crabbing, shrimping, and fishing. At the time of this interview, he was the owner and operator of The Crab Trap Restaurant in Frenier, Louisiana, as well as his crab marketing business.

Mike Le is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Mr. Mike Le was born in 1953 near the town of Rach Gia in the Kien Giang Province of South Vietnam, where his family had a coconut and rice farm. In addition to farming, his father taught martial arts.  Mr. Le escaped from Vietnam by boat with his uncle, cousins, and others, totally fifty-two people, in 1978. After spending five months in Pulau Tengah, Malaysia, he landed in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1979. Soon after, Mr.

Mr. Joseph D. Jewel (b. 1957) is deputy director of the Office of Marine Fisheries at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. He was born in 1959 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the small fishing community in east Biloxi known as the Point. His parents were Mr. Thomas Jewell and Mrs. Betty Jane Seymour Jewell. He was the second son in a family of six sons and one daughter. Following the return of his parents to his father’s ancestral home in Oregon, Joe was raised by his maternal grandparents in a commercial fishing family.

Mr. Muoi Pham is a Vietnamese-American living in New Orleans who is a tuna boat deckhand. Pham was born, the youngest of ten children, on October 8, 1957, in Phan Thiet, Vietnam. His parents originated from North Vietnam; his father fled from the Viet Minh to Phan Thiet where he met Mr. Pham’s mother. Mr. Pham quit school to begin fishing with his father, as deckhands, at age eighteen in Phan Thiet, a fishing village. Mr. Pham was imprisoned in reeducation camp in 1977 but escaped after two weeks.

Mr. Thang "Peter" Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American, former shrimper, now community liaison for Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center.  He was born in 1967 in Vung Tau, South Vietnam. His parents were fisherfolk and told him the story of escaping Vietnam in the family boat two weeks before the Communists took over South Vietnam, when Mr. Nguyen was just eight years old.

Mr. Thomas J. Schultz Jr. is a retired commercial fisherman in Biloxi, Mississippi. He was born on October 22, 1932, in Biloxi, Mississippi, to Mr. Thomas J. Schultz Sr. (born June 25, 1907, in Bon Secour, Alabama) and Mrs. Ophelia A. Quigley Schultz (born November 25, 1908, in Biloxi, Mississippi). His father was a fisherman and a boatbuilder. His father’s paternal lineage was Danish. His maternal lineage was Mississippi Native American. His mother was a housewife who also worked in the seafood processing industry.

Mr. Tuan Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American living in New Orleans who is the Deputy Director of Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation and served on Louisiana Congressman Joseph Cao's oil disaster Rapid Response Team following the BP Deepwater oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Nguyen was born, one of thirteen children, in 1980 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Thanh Nguyen and Than Nguyen of Phu Quoc, Vietnam.

Mr. Wesley Howard Stork is a retired commercial fisherman on Gulf Coast. Stork was born on December 12, 1926, in Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Mr. Henry Wilson Stork (born in Leavenworth, Kansas) and Mrs. Hattie Belle Clark Stork (born in Pascagoula, Mississippi). His father was a commercial fisherman and the owner of a merchandise store. His mother was a housewife, who worked in the family store. Stork’s father’s name was Hinklemeyer (sp?), and he changed his surname to Stork, which was his mother’s maiden name.

Mr. Robert McDuffie is a subsistence fisherman living in Moss Point, Mississippi. McDuffie was born on March 19, 1941, in Semmes, Alabama, to Robert Lee McDuffie (born April 1, 1905) and Oren Moss McDuffie. He and his wife Jerry were married in Moss Point, Mississippi. They have three children, Stephanie Swinea (born January 2, 1961), Jeffrey McDuffie (born January 18, 1963) and David McDuffie (born March 1, 1970). McDuffie has fished all of his life for subsistence.

Mrs. Hoa Thi Pham is a Vietnamese-American living in Biloxi, Mississippi, who made nets for a living in her native land, Vietnam.  She was born in 1953 in Duc Pho, South Vietnam. In 1966 she went to live temporarily with her grandfather’s brother in Vung Tau to be protected from the dangerous fighting in her home region. Mrs. Pham’s father grew rice and potatoes on their farm and her mother had a convenience store. Mrs. Pham had one younger brother. She married Mr. Luu Thai, a shrimper who was from her village. Mrs.

Mrs. Alvina Maudvella Nichols was born on October 21, 1925, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Mr. James Rosemond (born July 4, 1902, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi) and Mrs. Mattie Bell Johnson Rosemond (born December 29, 1903, in New Orleans, Louisiana). Her father was a fisherman who came from a fishing family, residing in Bay St. Louis. Her mother was a seafood processing factory worker. Her mother’s family originated in New Orleans and migrated to Bay St. Louis in the early 1900s. Nichols attended St.

Mrs. Xuyen Pham is a Vietnamese-American oyster shucker and gardener living in New Orleans East, Louisiana. Pham was born in 1948 in a small village near Hai Phong, North Vietnam. Her father, Thoan Van Pham, was a fisherman. Mrs. Pham helped her mother, Xuy Thi Pham, dry fish and shrimp to make and sell nuoc mam sauce. Her father and grandfather fished on stilts and made a boat carved from bamboo. In 1954 her family, disguised as merchants, made it to Hai Phong, then escaped North Vietnam to the South upon hearing of the country’s division.

Qui Lam is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in Houma, Louisiana. Mr. Qui Lam was born in 1961, one of eight children, near the city of Rach Gia, South Vietnam. His father’s name was Bung Lam. His mother’s name was Hui Trang. Mr. Lam is of Chinese and Vietnamese descent. At a young age, Mr. Lam traveled with his father by boat to the market to help buy merchandise to resell in his stores, which were later taken by the Communist regime. After 1975, Mr. Lam began shrimping to earn a living, in addition to growing watermelon and potatoes.

Reverend Daniel Quan Nguyen was born, one of five children, on July 15, 1941, in Tay Ninh Province (east of Saigon), South Vietnam. His parents were farmers and his father died when he was just a year old. Reverend Nguyen attended high school and university in Saigon, studying science and law, then becoming a high school math teacher. From 1968 to 1975, he served as an infantry commander in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army). He was stationed with the Fourth Battalion Regiment of the Seventh Division in the Mekong Delta.

Trish DiCienzo was born in Brockton, Massachusetts in the year 1963, the oldest of four kids. She married at age 18 and moved out to Boston for 22 years then moved to West Roxbury, Massachusetts where she worked in the police department. Later, she moved to Lakeville so she could work at a processing plant in New Bedford. Shortly afterward she was asked to transfer to Maritime Terminal where she works today.

William C. Stewart is a commercial shrimper on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  He was born on February 11, 1963, at Gulfport Memorial Hospital, Harrison County, Mississippi, to Mr. William Stewart (born in 1933, in Woolmarket, Mississippi) and Mrs. Barbara B. Stewart (born in 1940, in New Orleans, Louisiana). His father was an attorney and a judge in Gulfport, Mississippi. His father’s family were schooner captains, loggers, and shrimpers. His mother was a homemaker, who worked as William Colmer’s secretary and as a medical administrator.

Ali Berlow is a graduate student at Vermont Law School from Martha's Vineyard, MA studying how the role of Atlantic herring has changed in the U.S. food system. She came to the Forum to ask fishermen for their perspectives and talks about her findings as well as how she connects marine fisheries to her work in local-regional food systems and how eaters can support fishermen.

Scope and Content Note

Alison works in the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office in the Coral Conservation Branch of the Protected Resources Division. Her area of expertise is coral ecology, particularly reproduction, recruitment, and restoration. She provides scientific support for management actions and coordinates recovery-related activities for the seven species of Caribbean coral listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).