When The Island Had Fish: The Remarkable Story Of A Maine Fishing Community,Used

When the Island had Fish is the story of a tiny island, Vinalhaven Maine, that offers a close look at the significant history of Maine fishing particularly, but also offers perspective on the impact of industrialized fishing on small fishing villages all over the United States and the world. Vinalhavens documented habitation by fishermen dates back over 5000 years, and still today lobstering is the primary source of employment for its 1100 year round residents; islanders currently harvest lobsters at a rate almost unrivaled nationally.The book investigates the changing meanings of the notion of a fishing community and of community members changing relationships with the natural world and with international commerce. Through this broader lens, it sheds light on the way that species, including humans, are impacted by and at moments contribute to climate change, environmental degradation, and sustainable and unsustainable uses of natural resources.When the Island had Fish also provides a meditation on Americas past and future. Vinalhavens fishing history is in every way Americas history. Its a story of habitations by native peoples and EuropeanAmerican settlers, their use of natural resources, their communities and kin, and their efforts to find ways to live in a harsh environment. Anyone interested in creating a viable collective future will learn from reading about the Penobscot Bay fisheries and fishermen, and about Vinalhavens citizens expansive knowledge of craft, husbandry, selfgovernance and community independence, and interdependence.