F R O M   T H E   C R O W E ’ S   N E S T

On the 40th Anniversary



The high point of this year’s Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport was the Skippers Program presentation on Friday. More than anything in memory from past years at the forum, this program’s presentation spoke to the deep roots and social importance of fishing and coastal life in Maine.

The Skippers Program engages middle and high school students in hands-on study and research in coastal waters. These are the waters their families work on every day. The waters many of them see everyday. The waters to which some of their families have for generations been economically, socially and emotionally connected. This intertwining of life, work and environment is who fishing families are.

The fishing culture in Maine is uniquely alive and uniquely important in modern America. Real fishing villages where independent fishermen are the primary base of the local economy and culture. Where history, continuity and opportunity are maintained.

Skipper’s Program students worked to find a solution to a real ecological problem on the coast. They created proposals that might mitigate the impact of burgeoning green crab populations and presented them to a room packed beyond standing room. Young students presented the results of their work from a podium in a room mostly filled with strangers.

After the presentations, some parents spoke of their kids’ enthusiasm for the projects they were involved in. Their kids were coming home and engaging parents in discussions of their project. One parent reported her D-average son had become fully engaged in the project, began speaking highly of school and was now a B student.

Some of these kids may grow up to be fishermen, or marine biologists or something else. More importantly, they have developed an interest in education and the immediate world around them. The world of their parents and what may be the world of their children. They express feelings of being connected at an early age in a way they can measure.

“His view of education—he’s a totally different kid,” said one mother speaking about her son’s participation in the program. “For our community, it’s amazing what it’s done.” The presentation was a rare moment of family, community, culture, and humanity. It could not have been a more fitting and moving event for the 40th anniversary of the Fishermen’s Forum.