Randy Cushman is a fifth-generation fisherman from Port Clyde, Maine, with a rich family history in the fishing industry. His family's involvement in fishing spans several generations, with numerous relatives, including his three brothers, nephew, grandfather, great uncles, and great-grandfather, all having been fishermen. Cushman's family lineage traces back to Robert Cushman and his son Thomas, who were among the passengers on the Mayflower. However, the family's fishing roots began with Apollos Cushman, the first family member to settle in Maine, specifically in Bremen.

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.

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.

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.

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. Richard Merrick is Chief Science Administrator and Director of Scientific Programs at NOAA Fisheries. He has a B.S. and Master’s from Clemson University, two Master’s from Oregon State University in Marine Resource Management and Biological Oceanography, and finally a PhD in Fisheries from the University of Washington in Seattle. Merrick began his career with NOAA as a contractor in 1983, working in Alaska and the Arctic. He then moved to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and continued working for the conservation of marine mammals.

Dr. Richard Methot grew up in western Massachusetts. He attended the University of Washington and received a bachelor'sdegree from the College of Fisheries. Following graduation, Dr. Methot went to Scripps Institution of Oceanography where he earned his Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography in 1981. After a one year postdoc at Bodega Marine Laboratory, he began working for NOAA that same year at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in LaJolla, CA. In 1988, he moved to the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA.

Dr. Rita Curtis is the Chief of NOAA Fisheries Service Office of Science and Technology, Economic and Social Analysis Division. Dr. Curtis first began working with NOAA in 1999 as an economist for the Office of Science and Technology. In 1999, she completed her PhD in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland. Beforehand, Dr. Curtis worked at the Pacific Islands Fishery Science Center in Hawaii studying the longline fleet.

Robert Dyer was born on August 4, 1931 on Chebeague Island in Casco Bay.  He worked as a stop seiner, lobsterman and cannery worker for much of his life in the Portland and Casco Bay areas.  He is a cousin of Bruce Dyer of Cliff Island who also sat for a recording.  As of this interview in 2013, Robert was still living on Chebeague Island and in Yarmouth.  Interview contains discussions of: stop seining, herring canneries, bait prices, sardine prices, locations for stop seining, whale encounters, life on Chebeague Island, purse seining, carriers, bailing and pumping herr

Robert Humphreys was born in Newport Beach California, April 30, 1953. He grew up fishing in his big backyard, the Pacific Ocean and Newport Beach, California. Bob became a marine biology major at the University of California, Berkeley where he studied leopard sharks and bat rays in Bodega Bay. After graduating with his bachelor's degree, Bob then worked for the California Fish and Game office before heading to Hawaii in 1977. He began working at the NMFS Honolulu Laboratory during that year.