The 2017-2018 Eastern Maine Skippers Program got off to a grand start on Tuesday, September 26 with the largest event in program history. Over 150 students, presenters, staff, and members of the media converged at the Schoodic Institute in Winter Harbor for a day of team building, connecting, and learning.
Guided by this year’s overarching question — What can individuals and communities do to manage and restore local fisheries? — keynote speaker, Julie Keene of Lubec, delivered a passionate speech on honoring our heritage, our lost fishermen, and believing in our power to chart a future for Maine’s fishing communities. “Stick to what you believe in and never give up,” she told students.
After a raucous team building event in which students demonstrated fisheries related skills — everything from knot tying to crab picking — they got down to the business of learning about real-world problems. Fisheries journalists moderated panels, where representatives from all aspects of fisheries talked about the issues Maine’s coastal communities need to address in order to secure a healthy future.
Panelists offered students everything from information and insights to options and advice. For example, Jes Hathaway, editor of National Fisherman Magazine, moderated the panel for skippers from Jonesport, where lobsterman Hannah Carver talked about bait fisheries, seafood dealer Danny Rodge warned about the dangers of algal blooms and toxic maladies such as Amnesiac Shellfish Poisoning, and Kyle Pepperman spoke about the productive potential of area clam flats.
These are just a few of the many topics covered by the eight journalists and twenty-four community members who took time out of their busy lives to offer their expertise to the Eastern Maine Skippers Program students. Our hats go off to everyone who made this event a success, especially this year’s panelists:
Vinalhaven Panel:
Tom Groening: Editor of Working Waterfront, published by the Island Institute
Dennis Damon: Former State Senator for District 28
Pat Shepard: Runs Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries’ Sentinel Survey
Mattie Thomson: Fisherman
North Haven Panel:
Alan Kryzsak: Independent documentary filmmaker, and adjunct professor at Univ. of Maine at Machias
Haven Stone: Educator
Karin Cooper: Kelp farmer
Deer Isle-Stonington Panel:
Johanna Billings: Communications Director at Eagle Institute, and freelance reporter
Carla Guenther: Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries’ Senior Scientist
Genevieve McDonald: Lobster fisherman
George Stevens Academy Panel:
Mike Crowe: Editor of Fishermen’s Voice
Mike Thalhauser: EMSP lead for Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries
David Tarr: Lobster fisherman
Troy Dow: Marine Patrol officer
Ellsworth Panel:
Steve Rappaport: Reporter at the Ellsworth American
Mike Danforth: Seafood trader at Maine Shellfish
Sarah Madronal: Marine scientist at Downeast Salmon Federation
Pete Douvarjo: Salt water fishing guide in Penobscot Bay and Blue Hill Bay
MDI Panel:
Bill Trotter: Reporter at the Bangor Daily News
Sheryl Harper: Seafood dealer, wharf owner, Southwest Harbor
Megan McOsker: Lobster fisherman
Narraguagus Panel:
Sarah Craighead Dedmon: Editor of Machias Valley News and Observer
Larch Hanson: Seaweed harvester, writer, and bodyworker
Mike Pinkham: Clam warden and former Marine Patrol officer
Betsey Brown: Former Skippers student, fisherman, and student at UMM
Jonesport-Beals Panel:
Jes Hathaway: Editor of National Fisherman
Danny Rodge: Seafood dealer for Atlantic Shellfish
Hannah Carver: Lobster fisherman
Kyle Pepperman: Marine Scientist at the Downeast Institute
About the Eastern Maine Skippers Program:
Eastern Maine Skippers Program (EMSP) is a collaborative program between Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries and the Rural Aspirations Project. The program serves eight high schools, across 200 miles of Eastern Maine. EMSP focuses on providing students with the core knowledge and skills needed to participate in co-managed fisheries. Students learn to work with scientists and regulators to sustain the fisheries they depend on, while also learning to run successful and adaptable businesses.