Yvette Alexander, the wife of a retired fisherman, discusses the heartbreak and necessity of leaving the fishing industry. From advocating for new legislation with The Fishermen’s Wives’ Association, to going tuna fishing and throwing chum off the side of the boat, the fishing industry has always been a meaningful part of Yvette’s life. She raised her two boys fishing; allowing them to explore their own interests while still always encouraging them to fish with their father. Due to the drastic increase in ground fishing regulation, however, Yvette told her sons that she wanted them to have nothing to do with the fishing industry, because she viewed it as a dying business because of continuously tightening restrictions on quotas.

During this interview Yvette shares some of her bleak thoughts about the fishing industry as well as the wonderful and vital parts of the industry.
Interview and story by Mae Livermore at Harpswell Coastal Academy, 2016, in collaboration with the Holbrook Community Foundation and Galen Koch.