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.

Mr. Dac Truong is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Truong was born on May 8, 1954, in Rach Gia, South Vietnam. His father was a fisherman, head captain, and carpenter who built his own boat. Mr. Truong was his co-captain. In 1982 Mr. Truong escaped Vietnam with his family, navigating to Malaysia as captain on a friend’s boat. They were later transferred to a camp in the Philippines where he learned some English. In 1984 Mr. Truong and his family finally made it to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where they lived for three years.

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.

Mr. Oscar Sanzin was born October 15, 1925, in Yugoslavia. When he was thirteen years old, the Nazis overran his hometown in Yugoslavia, destroying the town and killing its occupants. Sanzin escaped and served in the Resistance. He was later a prisoner of war in Germany, and he was taken to Africa in the hold of a ship as a slave laborer. He was liberated by the Americans, and he immigrated to the United States where he became a commercial fishermen on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. On June 22, 1950, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, he married Helen Martin (born July 12, 1930).

Mr. Norman Yandell is a resident of Long Beach, Mississippi, a net-maker, creator of Norm Bait handmade lures, and a lifelong fisherman on the Gulf Coast. Yandell was born on August 12, 1934, in Gladewater, Texas, to Jessie Andrew Yandell and Minnie Quave Yandell (born December 25, 1918, in Poplarville, Mississippi). Yandell moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a young boy, residing with his mother and his stepfather Earl Holley (born January 1, 1916).

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.

Peter Floyd was born in Mayport, Florida, and has spent his career as a commercial fisherman in Pascagoula Mississippi.

Paul Latapie is a third-generation commercial fisherman who resides in Violet, St. Bernard Parish, La.

Mr. Edmond Anthony Boudreaux Jr. was born in 1949 to Edmond Boudreaux Sr. and Nita Mae Thomas Boudreaux. He is the third of eight children. He is married to Virginia L. Bertucci Boudreaux, and they have three sons, Edmond Boudreaux III, Brandon Boudreaux, and Marcus Boudreaux. Boudreaux is a 1967 graduate of Notre Dame High School in Biloxi, Mississippi. He was an AT&T service technician from 1973 until 2010, when he retired.

Heeny Yuen was born in 1926 in Hawaii. After leaving the Army, he completed his bachelors degree at the University of Michigan. He then returned to Hawaii and began a career in fisheries management at the Honolulu Lab while a graduate student. His first job was as a plankton picker. Over his long career, Heeny‘s research focus was varied with his later work focusing primarily on tuna and shark. He participated in numerous research cruises throughout his career over the vast Pacific territory. He retired in 1991 and as of this interview still lives in Hawaii.

Interview with Hazel Nishimura, Darryl Tagami, Betty Young, Marian Yong by Edward Glazier. All four interviewees are current or retired employees of the Honolulu Lab which became the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

Hazel Nishimura grew up in Hawaii and worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service Honolulu Lab retiring as Head Librarian in 1990 after 30 years. She graduated from the University of Hawaii with a Bachelors in History and from Case Western University with a Master's in Library Science.

James Bohnsack was born on September 3, 1947 in Flint, Michigan. He began working at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center in 1984 as a research fishery biologist. At the time of this interview in 2016, he was the Division Chief at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, a position he has held since 2004.

Jerry Wetherall was born in San Francisco. He graduated from Humboldt State University with his undergraduate degree and received his PhD at the University of Washington. His dissertation focused on salmon, downstream migration of salmon, on the Duwamish River. He served in the Peace Corps in Uganda and Kenya,and then began his career with National Marine Fisheries Service in 1974 at the Honolulu lab. Jerry has had a long and distinguished career in NOAA Fisheries and has worked all over the Pacific on a variety of topics.

Jay Burnett was born in 1948 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Boston University, and his bachelor’s degree in Fisheries as well as his master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He spent his career in the Age and Growth Unit, ten years as the head. He participated in many survey cruises throughout the years. Mr. Burnett retired from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in 2010.

James Crossen was born in Boston in 1926 and served in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. This experience helped him during the 1,200+days he was at sea during his long career. He began his career in 1955 with the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries which later became the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Jerry Prezioso was born on February 27, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University and his master‟s from the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography. Jerry began working at the NOAA Laboratory in Narragansett, Rhode Island in 1974 and continues to work there as an oceanographer to this day. 

James Hastie received a PhD in Resource Economics in 1987 from Oregon State University and immediately began working for the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Jim has been on the Pacific Council’s groundfish management team since 1993 and has served as co-chair from 2000 to 2003. He is currently the Program Manager for the Population Ecology Program and the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring Division at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

Dr. Jeffrey Polovinawas born in Troy, New York on September 30, 1948. He obtained an undergraduate degree in mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University and later a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of California, Berkley. He began his career in academics teaching at the University of San Diego. He moved to Hawaii and began working at the University of Hawaii Sea Grant office. He later went to work for the National Marine Fisheries Service and has served as the Chief of Ecosystem and Oceanography Division for most of his career. At the time of this interview in 2016, Dr.

Jason Link is Senior Scientist for Ecosystem-based Management for the National Marine Fisheries Service, still sitting at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole. Dr. Link earned his B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Central Michigan University. He then received his Ph.D. from Michigan Technological University. He began his career with NOAA NMFS at the Pascagoula Lab before moving to the Woods Hole Lab.

John Sibunka was a long time employee at the Sandy Hook Lab. His career spanned from 1966 when he joined the ichthyoplankton department to 2006 when he retired. He graduated from South Maine Vocational Technical Institute and Rutgers University where he received his bachelor's degree. During his career, John served on the R/V Delaware II, R/V Albatross IV,R/V NAUVOO and the R/V Henry Bigelow. Over his 40 year career, he spent an average of 100 days at sea per year.

Kenneth Sherman was born on October 6, 1932 and was raised in Boston, Massachusetts.In his early years, he would spend time with his father at the local Boston Fish Pier to observe the fishermen. He graduated from Suffolk University with the idea of attending law school. A mentor guided him towards biological sciences so he applied to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He taught in western Massachusetts for the Audubon Society before he began his career at the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1956.

Dr. Joseph Powers was born on February 19, 1949 in Gustine, California. He has earned degrees from the University of California, Davis A.B. Zoology 1971; California State University, Humboldt M.S. Fisheries Biology 1973 ; and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University PhD Fisheries Science 1975. He began his career with National Marine Fisheries Service at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in 1975. He then moved to the Southeast Fisheries Science Centers in 1979.

Linda Despres was born in Brunswick, Maine and grew up on her father’s boat with her brothers learning about tuna fishing and how to navigate the sea. This ignited a passion for marine wildlife as well as being outdoors exploring nature. She graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in zoology with a minor in wildlife biology. She began working at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in 1973.  She logged over 1,200 days at sea on the Albatross IV as well as many days at sea on foreign fleet vessels.

Interview contains discussions of: NOAA, NMFS, ecology, marine science, fisheries science, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, ocean modeling, habitats, climate change, winter flounder, Magnuson Stevens Act. 

Kurt Fresh was born in 1953. He attended the University of the Pacific for his undergraduate degree and received his Master's in Fisheries Science from the University of Washington in 1979. He began his career at the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1978. He moved to the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in 2002. Kurt’s focus has long been on salmon life histories and ecology as well as estuarine habitats. At the time of this interview, he was the Estuarine and Ocean Ecology Program Manager at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

Linda Rhodes was born in Fort Eustis, Virginia in 1952. Linda moved to the Seattle coast in 1974. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Washington in 1993. Linda has done work as a histopathologist and zoologist. She began working for the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in 1976 and has been a microbiologist since 2007. She enjoys in her leisure time participating in citizen science projects in her county. As of this interview, Linda lives on Whidbey Island, Washington.

Linda Park is a research geneticist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences and genetics from Cornell University and a PhD in population biology from Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked for NOAA for 26 years, and is currently the team leader of the molecular genetics laboratory.

David Pierce was born and raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Being from New Bedford, he had an interest in the ocean and the fisheries from a young age. He received his bachelors from SMU (Southeastern Massachusetts University) now University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He also received his Master's in Marine Biology from SMU in 1982. He received his PhD from University of Massachusetts Boston in 1996. He began working for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries in 1972.

Interview with Hazel Nishimura, Darryl Tagami, Betty Young, Marian Yong by Edward Glazier. All four interviewees are current or retired employees of the Honolulu Lab which became the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

Donna Wieting currently serves as the Director of the Office for Protective Resources at NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. She has a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Massachusetts and a Master’s in Marine Science from Louisiana State University. She has been at the agency since 1989 in various roles. 

Dr. Doug Lipton is currently the Senior Research Economist at NOAA Fisheries and a member of the Council of NOAA Fellows. He has a Bachelor’s in Biology from Stony Brook University, a Master’s in Marine Science from the College of William and Mary, and a PhD in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland. He started with the National Marine Fisheries Service as a Sea Grant Fellow in 1979 and was hired by NMFS as a fishery biologist before returning to school for economics. He also worked for Sea Grant as the national economics coordinator.

Chris Boggs is a Supervisory Fisheries Research Biologist and the Director of the Fisheries Research and Monitoring Division at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center [PIFSC] in Honolulu, Hawaii. He received his B.S. in Biology at the University of Hawaii Manoa. He received his Master's in Oceanography and Limnology as well as his PhD. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin Madison. He began working at the Honolulu Laboratory in 1985 before it became the PIFSC.  He has spent the early part of his career studying tuna.

Clyde MacKenzie completed his undergraduate studies at University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1955 and his master's degree in 1958. He began working for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1958, spending 14 years at the Milford Laboratory. While there, his research focus was on predation control in the development of oyster hatcheries. He has spent his entire career working with shellfish and their habitats.

Marine Biologist and Computer Sciences expert Dave Hamm was born in Minnesota in 1949. His father was in the Air Force and he traveled all throughout his childhood. He started college in Orlando, Florida and then went on to earn his Bachelors of Science at the University of West Florida, specializing in biology with a minor in statistics and mathematics. He went to graduate school at the University of South Florida and studied Computer Sciences. This allowed him work with both fishery management and database management within and for fisheries.

David Packer received his undergraduate degree in zoology from Ohio State University. He started to become interested in marine biology and received his Master’s degree from the University of Maine in 1988. He is the editor of Essential Fish Habitat and studies deep sea corals.

Interview contains discussions of: Grain size analysis, dump site project, deep sea corals, benthic communities, EFH, species source documents, stock assessment, and ecosystem based management, Gulf of Maine deep sea coral, research cooperation between NOAA line offices.

David McClellan was born on August 18, 1949 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He worked for NOAA at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center as a Fisheries Research Biologist for 37 years, conducting countless dives to gather data on the fisheries.

Interview contains discussion of: Southeast Fisheries Science Center, collecting fisheries data, NOAA divers, evolution and effect of data collection technology, benefits and disadvantages for working for a government agency, Reef Fish Visual Census Program.

Dr. Richard McBride earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Eckerd College, his Master’s in Oceanography from Stonybrook University, and his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers University. He worked at the Florida Marine Research Institute beginning in 1994. In 2006, he joined the Northeast Fisheries Science Center at Woods Hole where, as of this interview in 2016, he currently works as the Chief of the Population Biology Branch.

Dr. Patricia Clay is a fisheries anthropologist with the Social Science Branch of NOAA, where she has worked since 1993. She has a B.A. in Anthropology and Modern Languages from Notre Dame, and a PhD in Anthropology from Indiana University. She works with the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts from the NMFS headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Paul Rago is a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist. He was born in 1952 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and later studied at University of Michigan as well as Colorado State University where he received his master’s degree. Later, he earned his Ph.D. and dedicated much of his life to fishery science.

Interview contains discussions of: power plants, striped bass, preservation of fish species in the Great Lakes, nuclear energy, fishing yield.

Paul Rago's interview reviews his career path and his work.

Dr. Rebecca Lent knew she would study economics in college after taking a course in high school. She obtained her Bachelor degree in Economics from University of California San Diego and her Master’s degree from San Diego State. After graduation, she worked at Oregon State University in the economics of the salmon industry. While there, she pursued a Ph.D. in Marine Economics graduating in 1984. Dr. Lent worked in academia for 10 years in Quebec before beginning her career at NOAA Fisheries in 1992.

Born in 1926, Ray Fritz grew up in Detroit, Michigan and attended Michigan State College. He graduated in 1953 with a Bachelors in Biology and Zoology. He began his career with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries as a biologist at the Woods Hole Lab in 1956. During his time in Woods Hole, he spent time at-sea on the R/V Albatross III and R/V Albatross IV. He served as Chief Scientist on both vessels. In the late 1960's, he moved to Headquarters in Washington where he worked with the Federal Aid Program and served as Chief of Law Enforcement for National Marine Fisheries Service. Mr.

Patricia Gerrior was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up in Weymouth, Massachusetts where she would spend time on the water with her father which led to her interest in marine science. She studied Biology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine and began her 40 year career during her junior year in college with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries which became NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service.

Richard Langton grew up north of Boston. He studied at Northeastern University and later earned his Master's degree and Ph.D. in marine biology at the University College of North Wales in the United Kingdom. Langton completed a post-doc aquaculture project in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was then hired by the Federal government at Woods Hole. He worked in Maine as the Bureau Director of the lab in Boothbay Harbor and started a non-profit company in Tobago. He returned to work for the NMFS again at Sandy Hook and is editor of Fishery Bulletin.

Phillip Levin was born in Champaign, IL in 1962. He studied at the University of Texas receiving his Bachelor's in Zoology. During college, a fish class led to his interest in marine biology and field work. After teaching marine science at a San Antonio high school, he attended the University of New Hampshire where he received his PhD in Zoology. He then was an Assistant Professor at Texas A & M before he joined NOAA Fisheries at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in 1999 as a Research Fisheries Biologist.

Dr. Peter Lawson earned his Bachelor’s degree at Evergreen State College, and his Master’s and Ph.D. in Stream Ecology at Idaho State University. Dr. Lawson was a field ornithologist in northeastern Mexico, studying in particular parrots and peregrine falcons. After earning his graduate degrees he joined the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife using modeling to study Coho salmon.

Nicholas Alfonso was born on May 23, 1965, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Jerry and Ramona Alfonso. He is married to Lisa Christofi Alfonso, and they have two children, Kristy and Misty. Alfonso is a commercial fisherman and a member of the St. Bernard Coastal Advisory Board and the Knights of Columbus. He was interviewed by Stephanie Scull-DeArmey for the University of Southern Mississippi Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage on April 24, 2012. Alfonso currently resides in Louisiana and has been a commercial fisherman for a significant period.

Michael Sissenwine was born in 1947. He earned his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and his M.S. in Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. He began working as a scientist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center at Woods Hole in 1975, eventually rising to the position of Center Director at the Woods Hole lab and later, Director of Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor at NOAA Fisheries.

Mike Corbett was born in 1940 in Quincy, Massachusetts, and studied engineering at Northeastern University in Boston. He worked as a draftsman as a Northeastern co-op student for Murray and Tregurtha in Quincy, and after graduation worked in industry at General Electric, before moving to Gloucester and working as an ocean engineer for the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. He spent 29 years working in Exploratory Fisheries before moving to the private sector again.

Interview with Hazel Nishimura, Darryl Tagami, Betty Young, Marian Yong by Edward Glazier. All four interviewees are current or retired employees of the Honolulu Lab which became the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

Dr. Mark Holliday has a B.S. in Biology from SUNY Stony Brook, a Master’s in Marine and Environmental Science from Long Island University, and a PhD in Marine Studies from the University of Delaware. Growing up around the water, Holiday always knew he wanted to have a career in marine science. He came to NOAA after finishing his Doctorate through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act before being hired as a fisheries statistician. He later became the Chief Financial Officer for the Office of Science and Technology.

Michael Fogarty was born in 1951 in Fairbanks, Alaska where his father was stationed in the Army during the Korean War. His parents returned to their native Rhode Island when he was six years old. He developed an interest in marine science which led to him pursing his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Fogarty studied marine biology and earned his PhD degree at the URI School of Oceanography. Upon graduation, he began working at the Rhode Island Department of Environment Management with a focus on the lobster and crab fisheries.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Dr. Seki received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Oregon- Eugene, his M.S. in Oceanography from the University of Hawaii-Manoa, and his PhD in Marine Environment and Resources from Hokkaido University Graduate School of Fisheries Science in Hakodate. He began working with at the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center in 1980. He is currently the Science Center Director.

Interview contains discussions of: Seabirds, high seas drift nets, satellite technology, seamounts, long line fisheries, swordfish, tuna, JIMAR.

Michael Rust is an aquaculture science advisor for NOAA in Silver Spring, Maryland and has spent the last two decades conducting aquaculture research at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center. He received his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Colorado. He then served two years in the Peace Corps in the Philippines before returning to the United States. Rust pursued two Master’s degrees at the University ofCalifornia, one in International Agricultural Development and one in Animal Sciences. He also has a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.

Michael (Mike) Ford was born in Colorado in 1967. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and his PhD in Population Genetics from Cornell University in 1991. In 1995, Mike began working at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center as a national research associate where he studied the local adaptations of Chinook salmon using molecular genetic data. Since 2003, Mike has been the Director of the Conservation Biology Division at the Center.

Marvin Grosslein was born October 24, 1929 in Seattle. He grew up in Minnesota where a summer job with the Minnesota Conservation Department sparked his interest in fisheries science. He graduated from the University of Minnesota before attending Cornell University for his PhD. For his doctoral thesis, Dr. Grosslein developed a survey program that would provide a basis for estimating catches of all species. His graduate work took him to Woods Hole in the summer of 1959. He began full time in 1961 after completing his PhD.

Dr. Susan Abbott-Jamieson is a retired anthropologist with the Social Sciences Branch of NOAA, where she worked as the Senior Social Scientist in the Office of Science and Technology in the National Marine Fisheries Service. She joined the Air Force after high school, and later received a B.A. from Idaho State University and a Master’s and PhD. in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Interview with Hazel Nishimura, Darryl Tagami, Betty Young, Marian Yong by Edward Glazier. All four interviewees are current or retired employees of the Honolulu Lab which became the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

Bradford Brown was born in 1939 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell, his Master's from Auburn and his PhD from Oklahoma State University. He began working for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries at the Woods Hole lab in 1962. He worked in Woods Hole, Massachusetts from 1962 – 1965 and 1970- 1984. In between he served as Assistant Leader of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Oklahoma Cooperative Fisheries Units and as Assistant Professor of Zoology at Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Anne Richards was born the youngest of five children in Morristown, NJ on June 26, 1952 to parents from Ohio. She moved around a lot growing up and fell in love with New England when she lived here for a short time. Anne intentionally came back to New England to attend Colby College and studied marine Science and became interested in animal behavior. She attended the University of Rhode Island focusing on behavioral and ecological communities of fish in the Zoology department.

Interview includes discussions of: experimental design, Chris Chambers‟s work in Newfoundland, life cycles of mosquitoes, flounder, cod, capelin, nuclear power plants, individual based models, and contaminants.

Chris Chambers describes his experience with experimenting with different species throughout his career, and how this led to becoming involved with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

Beth Phelan Hill, Ph.D. has been a research fishery biologist at the J.J. Howard Marine Sciences Lab at Sandy Hook since 1984. She earned her PhD from Rutgers University. At the time of this interview, she was the Chief of Fisheries Ecology.

Interview contains discussions of:Changes in focus for lab, ecology, ecosystem management, ocean acidification and climate change.

In this interview, Beth Phelan Hill discusses her work with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center including funding challenges and the evolution of data management.

Anthony Calabrese was born in Providence, RI on February 25, 1937. Growing up, he was interested in fishing and the ocean. Dr. Calabrese earned his masters at Auburn University in Alabama, and later earned his PhD in Zoology/Ecology from the University of Connecticut. He began his career at the Milford Laboratory in 1963. His early research focused on the effects of pollution on shellfish and he brought his expertise to EPA committees he served on. He published over 70 reports and publications and founded the Flatfish Biology Conference in 1986.

Barry Berejikianwas born in 1967 in Panorama City, California, and spent his childhood summers going north on camping and fishing trips, particularly for trout and salmon. As a behavior ecologist, he leads the Behavioral Ecology Team and the Hatchery Reform Science Program at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Manchester, Washington. He received his B.S. in Environmental and Systematic Biology from California Polytechnic State University in 1990 and his M.S. in 1992 and his PhD. in 1995 in Fisheries from the University of Washington.

Gordon Waring was born on July 19, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York. He earned his B.A. in Biology from Humboldt State College, his Master’s from Bridgewater State College, and his Ph.D. in Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Waring began working for NOAA in 1973 and is a retired former team leader of the seal project within the Protected Species Branch at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

Gary Shepherd is a research fishery biologist with the Coastal Pelagic Resources Task in the Population Dynamics Branch of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. He started working for NMFS as a summer student aide in 1975 as a college freshman at UMass Dartmouth and did work-study in the Age and Growth Unit during his senior year. He went to Rutgers for graduate school where he conducted research on weakfish and striped bass populations.

Dr. Frank Parrish was inspired to pursue marine science by his Dad and his work. He learned to SCUBA dive at age 11 while living in Puerto Rico. His family moved to Hawaii just before he began high school where he spent these years volunteering for his Dad and recreational diving. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Zoology, his Master’s degree in Geography, and his PhD all from the University of Hawaii. He began working at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center as a biological aide, and is currently the Ecosystem Sciences Division Chief.

Edwin Rhodes was born in Milford, Connecticut on March 4, 1943. During high school, he visited the Milford Lab to ask about a science project. He met Victor Loosanoff, the Lab Director, who became a mentor. Ed began working at the lab in 1959 as a high school junior and continued to work there until about 1970. After a brief break, he returned to the lab from 1971 to 1989. He rejoined NOAA as the Aquaculture Coordinator from 1997 to 2001. He has spent his entire career, both in the public and private sectors, working on aquaculture and shellfish. 

Gary Wikfors was born in Weehawken, NJ. After receiving his B.S. in biology at the University of Maine, Wikfors became interested in phycology. He began working at the Milford Laboratory in 1976 while earning his Master's at the University of Bridgeport. He later earned his PhD at the University of Connecticut while continuing to work at the lab. He is now the Branch Chief of the Aquaculture Sustainability Assessment Branch at the Milford Lab.

Edward DeMartini was born in San Francisco, California in 1946.His father died when he was four years old, and he was introduced to fishing when he was six by his cousin who acted as a surrogate father at the time. Ed says he was a natural historian at a young age and credits his mother with giving him the latitude to be an avid explorer and sparking his early interest in fish. Ed graduated with a degree in biology from the University of San Francisco in 1968, and a Master’s in Biological Oceanography in 1970.

Gina Ylitalo is an environmental chemist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington. She was born in Yakima, Washington in 1957, and has been interested in a career in science since junior high.She attended Yakima Valley Community College for two years before transferring to Western Washington University and receiving a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. She earned her Master of Science in Chemistry from Western Washington University and was hired by National Marine Fisheries Service in 1989.

Dr. Edward Klima was born on July 30, 1934, in Catskill, New York. He began working for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1962 as a shrimp biologist. He spent time in the Panama City Lab working on gear research before moving to the Pascagoula Lab. He spent 4 years in Washington D.C. where he worked on the drafting the legislation for the 200 mile limit which became the Magnuson Stevens Act. He returned to the Galveston Lab as the Lab Director in 1977 until his retirement in 1992.

Oliver Goldsmith Brown IV is a retired oil field engineer who worked on a sailing, commercial fishing vessel as a teenager in the 1950s in the Gulf of Mexico. Brown was born on December 3, 1940, in Morton, Mississippi. He grew up in Morton and later moved to Mobile, Alabama, where he lived with his uncle and aunt. Brown's family had a history of involvement in the fishing industry, and he began working as a fisherman at a young age. 

Mr. Clyde Leslie Brown was born July 1, 1932, in Pecan, Mississippi, to Nathaniel Richard Brown (born November 22, 1901, in Canoe, Alabama) and Mary Edna Stork Brown (born February 28, 1906, in Pecan, Mississippi). His father was a farmer who ran a general store in Canoe, Alabama, and his mother was a housewife. His mother’s father was a commercial fisherman in Jackson County, Mississippi, who ran a general store in Pecan, Mississippi. On September 4, 1955, he married Annie Marie Jones.

Ran Bui is a Vietnamese-American shrimper in Biloxi, Mississippi. Mr. Ran Bui was born in 1960, one of eleven children, and raised in the port city of Vung Tau in southern Vietnam. Mr. Bui’s parents are originally from Hai Phong in the north of Vietnam. His father, Canh Bui, was a member of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army) and a fisherman; his mother, Mau Thi Nguyen, fished with the family and worked for a seafood company processing oysters and shrimp. Mr. Bui began fishing with his father at age eleven.

Nick Collins, born in 1971 in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a fourth-generation commercial fisherman primarily involved in oystering. His family's business, the Collins Oyster Company, has a longstanding reputation along the Gulf Coast and nationwide. Collins' expertise in oystering has been passed down through generations, shaping his deep understanding of the industry. 

Jennifer M. Buchanan is an educator at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, serving as the education coordinator. She has been involved in oral history projects, particularly focused on capturing the experiences and knowledge of individuals with a deep understanding of the coastal areas. Buchanan's work involves collaborating with researchers to design and conduct studies to understand significant events and changes in the coastal environment.

Mr. Gerald William Bosarge was born on November 13, 1934, in Pecan, Mississippi, to Mr. Charles Bosarge and Mrs. Bosarge (born Saksa, in Finland). He is married to Mrs. Harriet Janice Zirlott (born in Coden, Alabama on June 27, 1945). They have two children, Gerald William Bosarge Jr. and Lori Ann Bosarge. At the time of this interview, Mr. Bosarge was retired from commercial fishing, and after forty years of fishing for a living, he currently fishes for fun and sustenance. He is from a multi-generational fishing family, with ancestors who fished on both sides of his family. 

Bryan E. Cumbie is a commercial fisherman from Bayou LaBatre, Alabama. Cumbie began his fishing career in 1996, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Billy Johnson, who taught him the trade. He has been involved in commercial fishing since the 1970s and has spent most of his life in Bayou LaBatre. Cumbie's experience in the fishing industry spans several decades, and he has witnessed the impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster on the Gulf Coast fisheries. 

Dr. Emory Anderson was born on September 11, 1939, in Kenmare, North Dakota. He attended Dana College, majoring in Mathematics and minoring in Physics. After graduating, he became a high school math teacher. After two years of teaching, Anderson decided he wanted to pursue a career involving wildlife and the outdoors. He attended the University of Minnesota, where he first took preliminary science courses to prepare him for graduate school. During this time, he worked as a fish hatchery technician, encouraging him to pursue fisheries science.

Vaughn Anthony earned his Bachelor's in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Maine, his Master's in Fisheries from the University of Michigan, and earned his PhD. in Fisheries from the University of Washington. He began his career with the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the early 1960's working on quantitative stock assessments. After earning his PhD, he returned to the Boothbay Lab before its' closure. He then moved to Woods Hole to continue his work. From 1977 to 1980, he worked for the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Jonathan (Jon) Hare was born and raised in upstate New York. He completed his graduate work at SUNY Stony Brook. His dissertation focused on bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). He completed his post-doctoral work at the NMFS lab in Beaufort, North Carolina working on recruitment dynamics of several species. After seven years, he moved to the Narragansett Lab in 2005 where he became head of the Oceanography Program, a position he still holds as of this interview.

Danner Curtis is a lobsterman based in Blue Hill Bay, Maine. Curtis did not come from a fishing family and was able to start fishing after filling out a Maine state license. There are now permit programs in place, including a student program that allows students to fish 150 traps in the summer as long as they attend college.

Brian Langley is a a culinary arts teacher and local restauranteaur.  Langley learned the restaurant business from his father and discovered his passion for cooking when he took a culinary program in high school. His seafood-centered restaurant, the Union River Lobster Pot in Ellsworth, Maine, is based on the lesson that you have to sell what people want to buy, not what you want to sell. Langley serves a variety of fish but the top sellers are salmon, halibut, scallops, shrimp, and clams.

Bob Hessler is the manager at Maine Shellfish Company, a shellfish wholesale company. His responsibilities are accounting, data processing, and purchaser of lobsters.

Billy Grindle, is a fisherman who used to fish for various types of fish from Eastport, Maine to California. He fished for scallops, lobsters, tilefish, butterfish, squid, mackerel, herring, porgies, giant Atlantic bluefin tuna, and oysters. Billy started fishing at the age of seventeen and continued until he was thirty. He owned a forty-foot boat but also worked on larger boats up to a hundred and ten feet. He kept his boat in various locations such as Northeast Harbor, Bass Harbor, Gloucester, Block Island, and Port Clyde.

This is an interview with the alewife agent for the city of Ellsworth, Maine. Each year lobstermen come to buy alewives for bait for the lobster. He discusses the mechanics of the fish trap and moving the fish to their spawning grounds. He discusses the life cycle of the alewife and the importance to the lobster harvest. He discusses the sea birds that follow the fish and the competition that develops among them.

Billy Haas is a lobster fisherman, commercial urchin diver, and scallop diver. He has been involved in these activities for about fifteen years. His daily schedule varies throughout the year. He works for ten months and takes two months off, usually during May and June. During the slow period, he prepares for lobstering, which begins at the end of June.

Fred Hersom is a lobster fisherman who first went out fishing with his father when he was six years old. He discusses the weather, bait, number of traps, sale of lobsters, rules, and regulations, and a typical day in the life of a fisherman. He fishes out of Stonington, Maine, and usually sets out four to five hundred traps.

David Sargent is a lobster fisherman, clam digger, and sea urchin and scallop diver.  Sargent's boat is 22 feet long, and he has 275 traps. He has one additional person who helps with tasks like filling bait bags and cleaning traps. He primarily uses herring and hide as bait, which can be challenging to obtain at certain times of the year.

Kevin Lynch is a seasoned boat captain and fisherman with extensive experience in various types of fishing. He has been involved in the fishing industry for approximately fifteen years, primarily focusing on scallop fishing, dragging industry, tuna fishing, and elver fishing. Kevin's fishing ventures have taken him to different locations, including Maine and New Jersey.

Herb Hodgkins is a renowned figure in the lobster industry, known for his expertise as a lobster fisherman, entrepreneur, and researcher. Born and raised in Hancock, Maine, Herb was exposed to the world of lobster fishing at a young age, accompanying his father on fishing trips. From being a curious helper to occasionally being a little nuisance, Herb developed a deep-rooted connection to the lobster industry. Although Herb didn't pursue lobster fishing as a full-time occupation, he remained closely involved in various other aspects of the industry.

Jennifer Vose is a naturalist and marine researcher working for the Marine Environmental Research Institute. Based in Blue Hill, Maine, she spends her summers as a naturalist on their boat trips, educating the general public about the local ecology and marine habitat. With a focus on teaching people about the intricacies of the ecosystem, Jennifer's work involves hauling up lobster traps, studying the species caught, and explaining their anatomy, life cycles, and ecological significance. Her aim is to raise awareness about the local environment and promote conservation efforts.

Jane Langley is the co-owner of Union River Lobster Pot, a seafood restaurant located in Ellsworth, Maine. Born in Michigan, Jane moved to Southwest Harbor at a young age and later settled in Ellsworth. With a background in the restaurant industry, Jane and her husband operated the Oak Point Lobster Pound for ten years before deciding to venture into something new. In 2005, they purchased a property on South Street and built the Union River Lobster Pot.

Jamie and Annie Perry are a husband and wife who reside in Ellsworth, Maine. Jamie has been a lobsterman for approximately fourteen to fifteen years. His decision to become a lobster fisherman was influenced by his family's long-standing tradition in the fishing industry. The couple has children, and Mrs. Perry has had to adjust to the seasonal nature of Jamie's work, as lobster fishing provides income for only about five to six months of the year.

Heath and Lee Hudson are mussel fishermen and entrepreneurs based in Maine. Heath Hudson owns a thirty-three-foot dragger named the Ms. Daisy, which was originally a lobster boat converted into a dragging vessel for mussel harvesting. The Hudsons operate the Frenchmen Bay Mussel Company, which was initially started by Heath's father. After his father retired, Heath purchased his boat and continued the family business.

John Crossman has been a lobster fisherman for 23 years, starting in Frenchboro, an island off the coast. John learned fishing from his father. He currently fishes off Bass Harbor, Mount Desert Island, but keeps his fishing spots secret.

Jim Stanley is a lobsterman based in Ellsworth, Maine. Born and raised in the area, Jim comes from a family with a strong fishing background. His stepfathers, brothers, and nephews are all involved in the fishing industry, making it a family tradition. Jim started fishing at the age of thirteen, accompanying his uncle and cousin on fishing trips out of Bartlett's Island. Over time, he developed a passion for lobstering and eventually acquired his own boat, a seventeen-foot vessel that he uses to haul traps.

Paul Brayton is a multifaceted individual who has pursued various occupations throughout his life. Born and raised in Ellsworth, Maine, Brayton began his career as a commercial fisherman after serving in the Navy as a pilot. He was drawn to the excitement and freedom of fishing, spending long hours at sea, and enjoying the financial rewards that came with it, especially during the less regulated times of the 1970s. However, as he started a family, Brayton realized that the demanding nature of offshore fishing was not compatible with being present for his loved ones.

Kip Young is a seasoned lobster fisherman and tuna fisherman hailing from Corea by the Sea, Maine. Born and raised in a coastal town, Kip was drawn to the sea and the fishing industry from a young age. At the age of fourteen, he made the decision to become a lobsterman, primarily because it was the main industry in his town and he found it to be a fun and exciting endeavor.

Scott Fuller, a former lobstering and scallop fisherman, was born in Maine. He embarked on his fishing career in 1983 and continued until 1987. Growing up in a coastal community, Scott developed an affinity for the sea and its unpredictable nature. His choice to become a fisherman was fueled by a desire to embrace the challenges and rewards that came with the occupation. Although not from a family with a fishing background, Scott was introduced to the trade through an in-law who was already involved in the industry.