Tales of the Sea

The other morning on my walk down Commercial Street here in Portland, I was watching the lobster boats unload at the wharf. Diesels were rumbling and seagulls circling, hoping for a morning snack. A busy working harbor before much of the city is awake.A school bus rolled past me with kids’ faces pressed to the windows. A few of them looked out at the fishing boats like it was a totally new sight – and for some – it was.Some of the kids live no more than a few minutes from the harbor. But odds are that many of them have never been on a boat. Never been on the water. Not because they didn't want to, but because they never had the opportunity. Meanwhile, the fishing industry that built this state is in danger of aging out. Including the lobster industry .Last fall, in 2025, Maine lost Virginia “Ginny” Oliver, better known as the lobster lady. She was 101 years young. Ginny had started hauling traps when she was just eight years old. The New Times even did an article on her long career, along with Public Radio and countless magazines and newspapers. She was still lobstering up until the day she passed.Today's episode is all about an organization here in Portland that is trying to close the gap – between young people who have never considered a career on the water – and those who have spent their whole lives fishing. It’s an innovative initiative called Lift All Boats. I’ll be talking with Ben Coniff and Miranda Shin, two people who are actively introducing high school kids, ages 15-18 into the fishing industry through a lobster fishing mentorship program. The goal is to get more young people started on their way to obtaining a very-hard-to-get lobstering license.

The winter of 2023-24 saw a series of fierce storms that reshaped the main landscape. The storms battered landmarks and waterfront communities. Most of us hunkered inside, did not venture out to face the storms fury and impact. Unprecedented rains flooded Western and central Maine with sustained winds of 35 to 40 miles per hour gusting well beyond that, bringing additional damage to the state.My guest today is Sam Belknap. Sam is the current director of Maine Island Institute Center for Marine Economy, overseeing the work on several fronts, including protecting and sustaining Maine's working waterfronts.

It might have been predicted that my guest today would become enchanted with the sea. As a young boy, while spending summers on an island off the idyllic coast of Maine, Trevor Corson, was surrounded by beautiful clean, cold waters – the perfect habitat for oysters, shrimp, mussels, scallops, fish and of course the famous Maine lobsters. Today he is the author of two highly acclaimed books – including The Story of Sushi – and his first book, which is a narrative NON-fiction but reads like a novel - which we’ll talk about today: The Secret Life of Lobsters, a book that was named the Best Nature Book of the Year on its release.

My guest today took a highly unusual path to the sea. Anna Conathan is a standup comedienne, actor, television comedy writer, life-coach, and most recently a working stern man on a commercial lobster boat. She’s also a mom – so it’s clear that Anna is a multi-talented, multi-faceted woman whose love of fishing – and the sea - has captured her imagination.

Although we might consider the topic of today’s Tales of the Sea discussion somewhat “sea-adjacent” the health of the lands that directly interact with any body of water – be it ocean or river or lake - is critical to our environment. It might be a watershed, or a wetland or a tidal marsh or estuary or bog – these “sea-adjacent” areas are important. And that’s why I was anxious to have Curtis Bohlen, director of the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership in Portland, Maine, join me on today’s podcast.

Today we talk about WHY men fish, why we are so impressed with BIG fish – and finally, what inspired Herman Melville to write about the biggest whale ever seen.Many have suggested there’s something primal in the act of fishing. Man versus Nature and all that. There’s a well-known quote from the 31st president of the United States, Herbert Hoover, an avid fisherman, he said: “All men are equal before fish.”

My guest is Zeke Holland is a lifelong sailor and the author of A Satisfying Sail Around the World. One reviewer, “The book captures the joys and challenges of world cruising, and brings an eventful circumnavigation to a well-deserved and happy ending.”

December 1839. A massive storm hits the East Coast leaving ships and lives in its wake. A young poet named Longfellow is inspired to write a narrative poem that will become one of the most memorable pieces in American literature.