Tim Sheehan
Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019
Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019 is a project of Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, and the Island Institute, with support from the Maine Fishermen’s Forum Board of Directors.
Griffin Pollock
Tim Sheehan a former teacher from Pembroke, ME, cofounded Gulf of Maine, Inc., a shellfish wholesaler.
Scope and Content Note
In this interview Tim Sheehan talks about the innovative techniques he and his wife have used to recruit diggers and grow the company, the importance of monetary assistance for removing barriers to work, the plight faced by Native American diggers Downeast, and the barriers that new families face when trying to enter into a fishery. He describes himself as a consummate entrepreneur, business person, biologist, and former high school science teacher. He explains that he holds multiple commercial fishing licenses to operate his marine life supply company. These licenses include a green crab license, eel license (formerly), perch licenses, clammer's license, mussel license, and more. To maximize their profits, Tim says he decided to sell his products directly to big shellfish dealers in Boston, New Bedford, and Gloucester, bypassing the midcoast dealers. Tim talks about how he learned that the coast of Maine is divided into buying territories, and established families and dealers controlled these territories. He says that as his business grew, more and more harvesters started bringing their products to him.
Please Note: The oral histories in this collection are protected by copyright and have been created for educational, research and personal use as described by the Fair Use Doctrine in the U.S. Copyright law. Please reach out Voices@noaa.gov to let us know how these interviews are being used in your research, project, exhibit, etc. The Voices staff can help provide other useful resources related to your inquiry.
The NOAA mission is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. The Voices Oral History Archives offers public access to a wide range of accounts, including historical materials that are products of their particular times, and may contain offensive language or negative stereotypes.
Voices Oral History Archives does not verify the accuracy of materials submitted to us. The opinions expressed in the interviews are those of the interviewee only. The interviews here have been made available to the public only after the interviewer has confirmed that they have obtained consent.