‘When the Island Had Fish’ is a portrait of Vinalhaven through its most prominent industry
Vinalhaven Island sits like a plug between the Gulf of Maine’s offshore gyre and the estuaries, marshes and shallows of upper Penobscot Bay. After the melting of the continental ice sheet 13,000 years ago, these waters became some of the richest fishing grounds on earth. “When the Island Had Fish” tells the story of fish and fishing around Vinalhaven, focusing on the industry’s impact on the people of this singular place. It’s presented as history, garnished with some science and statistics, but at heart, this is an ethnography of a Maine fishing community. Janna Malamud Smith is the participant-observer, and her friends and acquaintances on Vinalhaven, where she summered for 30 years, are her informants. more, >>click to read<< 14:10
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