Calling all fishermen! Part 2

It was Valentine's Day. Of all the roundtable meetings we held with fishermen in Massachusetts, I expected this one to have the lowest turnout. After all, who wants to spend their free time talking about marine debris with a bunch of scientists on Valentine's Day? But the meeting had our largest turnout yet. Some of the fishermen even brought their wives - I hope they had romantic dinner plans afterward. 

We sat together in a corner of the Fishing Heritage Center in New Bedford. We were surrounded by reminders of the fishing industry - a mannequin wearing an orange survival suit, a video from a scallop processing plant, models of fishing gear and boats. It was the perfect setting for our discussion. 

At every roundtable, we have had one or two big personalities. A couple of fishermen with strong opinions come and make sure we hear everything they have to say. Don't get me wrong, these big personalities push the conversation forward. The whole point of our roundtable meetings is to get fishermen's views on marine debris, and I am so grateful for the vocal individuals in the room. 

Calvin has been recording each conversation for our team's reference. At times last night, I'm not sure the recording helped - too many people were talking at once. A fishing gear manufacturer, a lobsterman, a groundfisherman - all had their own views to share with us. We had to balance the room and invite individuals to speak one by one. 

When the conversation wrapped up, I handed out business cards to our participants. Fishermen are experts on their own practices and challenges at sea, so I encouraged them to reach out with any further thoughts they might have. As one of our participants said, he held a "PhD from Georges Bank University." I agree. 

Many thanks to the fishermen who have shown up and offered their voices to our study! Thanks to their input, we are starting to unravel the factors that cause marine debris entanglement on shipwrecks and design solutions.