This Thursday, October 16, will mark the first-ever Downeast Fishing Family Forum in Ellsworth, which organizers say will offer the community a place to "discuss the issues that matter most."
Co-organizer Amanda Smith, with the Sunrise County Economic Council, is married to a lobster fisherman, and lives in the Jonesport-Beals Island area. She says over the last few years, fishing communities like hers have faced lots of similar challenges, like worrying about the future of the industry, and experiencing the heartache of losing loved ones at sea.
"We often don't recognize just how much stress there is on the shoulders of the whole fishing family unit and our communities," said Smith.
Those small communities can also be isolated, and it's hard for busy fishing families to step back and take a break from their day-to-day responsibilities. The goal of the forum, Smith says, is to bring together fishing families from Vinalhaven to Eastport talk to each other, connect, and share resources. The half day event will feature discussions on fishing safety and emergency response, stress management, injury and chronic pain, and income diversification.
Liz Michaud, the founder of the commercial fishing safety non-profit Green and White Hope, says everyone is welcome to attend.
"It doesn't have to be a wife. It could be a mother, it could be a brother or a sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, friend," said Michaud. "There's just so much to be learned in this space, and we all can use each other in these communities."
The Downeast Fishing Family Forum is being held at Woodlawn in Ellsworth and organized by the Sunrise County Economic Council, Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, Green and White Hope, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, and Island Institute.
