March 9, 2015 — This comes from Blount’s pitch on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter: “Hi, I’m Bill Blount, I’m the captain and owner of the fishing vessel Ruthie B, a 77-foot stern trawler which fishes out of Nantucket. I ask for your help so that I might be able to continue to do the work that I enjoy and love, and to supply Nantucket with more and better fresh seafood.”
Willis Blount is given to rambling off stories about a life at sea, a place where he’s spent more than a half century fishing. With heavy, calloused hands and a soft handshake, Blount built and designed the boat he continues to make his living on.
But last spring, after a decade of losing money in a declining industry, Blount almost joined the ranks of fishermen forced out of the trade. Behind on his mortgage payments, he needed the income of a good catch. But to go fishing Blount would need more than $30,000 for fuel, maintenance, insurance and other costs — and it was money he didn’t have.
A veteran of both the U.S. military and one of the most turbulent industries, the last offshore fisherman on Nantucket wasn’t ready to hang up his hat. With the support of friends and Nantucketers who wanted him to continue fishing, 69-year-old Blount turned to alternative revenue models to stay afloat.
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