August 21, 2017 — POINT JUDITH, R.I. — In early July, a group of apprentices joined a pilot program designed to train new commercial fishermen and women. When the program ended 20 days later, not a single apprentice had dropped out.
“We were very pleased with that,” said Barbara Somers, a research associate at the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science who helped put the program together. “We started with 12 and we ended with 12.”
The program, funded by a $100,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was a joint initiative of URI and the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island, a non-profit group representing nine fishing organizations. The goal was to produce skilled crews to replenish the declining ranks of the Rhode Island commercial fishery.
The course covered all aspects of fishing, from fish stock assessments to net-mending and engine repair. Most of the training took place on fishing vessels and at fishing-related businesses. Equipment and meals were provided, and everyone who completed the program received a $1,000 stipend. Participants were also introduced to Point Judith’s tightly-knit commercial fishing community, where many have already found jobs.
Marian Kach, 37, is one of two women who completed the program. She said she had learned about the course on Facebook and jumped at the opportunity.
“I’ve been into fishing for seven years, rod and reel, and I’ve always wanted to work on a dragger, but as a woman, it’s kind of hard to approach a bunch of people in a very different way of fishing, and I didn’t really know anybody down there,” she said.