When the Island Had Fish

The story of a tiny island, Vinalhaven Maine, that focuses on the significant history of Maine fishing particularly, but also offers perspective on the impact of industrialised fishing on small fishing villages all over America and the world. Vinalhaven's 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 harvest lobsters at a rate almost unrivalled 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. 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.