Latest news with #womeninfishing
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
What to eat in Portland, Maine
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). 'Oyster farming used to be really male dominated,' says Amy Gaiero. 'But that's starting to change. I'm noticing more women out here working on the water.' The morning air is still so crisp that her words produce a cloud of mist over the shiny aluminium barge as we chug towards Nauti Sisters Sea Farm: a small but mighty micro-oyster venture where Amy and her sisters Alicia and Chelsea cultivate shellfish destined for Portland's white-tablecloth restaurants. Fresh out of college, Amy isn't your typical marine farmer: she's young, female, sporting on-trend outdoorsy gear and — ironically — is allergic to shellfish. Yet, reeled in by the promise of harvesting low-impact, hyper-local food, the plucky fisherwoman has found her unlikely calling in life. Downing anchor at Nauti Sisters' offshore sea farm, a grid of 24 floating racks, Amy hauls up a dripping oyster cage, expertly shucks one open and ceremoniously baptises it with a splash of cucumber-melon infused vinegar, poured from her handy hip flask. I down it in one slurp: the meat briny, faintly sweet and rudely plump, thanks to East Coast oysters beefing up for winter. 'Eastern oysters are unique, as they go into hibernation because the Atlantic Ocean gets so cold. While this means they take longer to mature — between 18 months and three years — they're much tastier as a result,' the seafarer enthuses, as we glide back through Casco Bay to shore, shrieking seagulls hovering above like white kites in the sky. Passionate small-batch farmers like Amy are bountiful in Portland, the cultural hub of Maine set on the island-strewn New England coast. For a US city, it's a relatively small one. Eastbourne in the UK has more residents, for example. Yet when it comes to gastronomy, Portland very much holds its own against the likes of Boston and Philadelphia. A winning formula of working waterfronts, a tight-knit community of farmers and a crop of creative chefs have all provided fertile ground for Portland's thriving food scene to take root. Stepping off the salt-sprayed boat in the satellite port town of Yarmouth, I journey south towards the buzzy dining rooms of Downtown Portland, passing white clapboard and cedar-shingled homes along the way. Arriving in the Old Port district, the redbrick facade of Fore Street restaurant looks rather industrial and imposing from the pavement. But inside the former warehouse, it's a hive of activity — line cooks prepping in the bustling open plan kitchen and the tantalising scent of warm dough rising up from the basement bakery below. In the eye of the storm stands owner Sam Hayward. With a clipped grey moustache and a knitted jumper, he has the easy manner of someone at the top of their game. Known as the godfather of Portland's farm-to-table dining scene, Sam opened his pioneering restaurant back in 1996. 'I was in the right place at the right time,' he says modestly, easing into a leather chair, coffee cup in hand. Having arrived in New England at the tail end of the 1970s, the self-taught chef spent a couple of years living in a rural hippy commune, where he witnessed first-hand that change was on the horizon. Unable to compete with large-scale Midwest production, a generation of farmers abandoned their homesteads which were replaced by a surge of younger growers with a more utopian vision. 'Looking in the rear-view mirror, what I'm really describing is the back to the land movement,' Sam reflects. 'An innovative agricultural community had emerged, with self-sufficient farmers who were interested in countercultures.' Add local fisheries harvesting lobster, scallops and finfish into the mix, alongside one of the country's oldest farmers' markets, and there were all the ingredients needed for a culinary renaissance, Sam explains, as a crate of freshly harvested greens is delivered to the restaurant's entrance behind him. In 2004, Fore Street put Maine on the culinary map when Sam became the state's first chef to see a coveted James Beard Award pinned to his starched white apron. More than two decades on, his kitchen still dazzles, serving wood-fired Maine mussels, turnspit-roasted chicken and vegetables so meticulously sourced that Sam selects them from a farmer's seed catalogue each season. 'There's this constant back and forth with the growers that feels quite experimental,' he says, sunlight flooding through the dining room's large bay windows. 'It's a dialogue that was absent when I worked in kitchens in larger cities such as New Orleans and New York.' I leave Sam and his crew to their daily service rush, and venture along the cobblestone waterfront for a few blocks, passing the swirling sky-blue sign of J's Oyster, a vintage, no-frills seafood joint where celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain once indulged in buttery clams. Nearby, a queue is forming outside The Holy Donut, a cult classic serving warm potato doughnuts with far-out flavour combinations including bacon cheddar and a whiskey cocktail-inspired old fashioned. Across the street, I duck into Harbor Fish Market, a ramshackle wharf relic from the 1800s that's beloved by tourists and Portlanders alike. Inside, shelves strain under the weight of glistening wild blue mussels and silver-skinned whiting, while water tanks ripple with feisty lobsters. I spot a cluster of Nauti Sisters deep cup oysters, crowning the ice at the shellfish bar, a delicacy that only that morning I'd watched Amy heave from the depths of the ocean. For the grand finale, I make my way to Portland's latest sushi spot, Mr Tuna. Decked out in soft pastel hues, with potted houseplants scattered throughout and neon signs on the walls, it's the kind of stylish hangout that's been lighting up Instagram feeds since it opened in May 2024 (although the venture actually began life as a food truck in 2017). But it's the tide-to-table seafood that's really making waves here. At the blonde wood bar, chef-owner Jordan Rubin, long black hair swept up in a high knot, slides over a plate of Atlantic bluefin sashimi. Tender slivers of tuna, as smooth as Turkish delight, dissolve luxuriously on my tongue. It's unlike anything I've tasted, I tell him, to which he nods knowingly. 'You're not the first to be amazed by the freshness,' he says, recalling a recent two-night pop-up with renowned Japanese chef Norihito Endo. 'He was stunned by the quality of Maine's seafood. Some of it's even better than what he gets back in Japan,' Jordan marvels. As I savour my next course — a Maine crab maki roll daubed with yuzu mayo and swaddled in pillowy rice — Jordan reflects on how tastes have evolved over the course of his 20-year career. 'It used to be tough to convince people to try something like sea urchin. Now, they actively seek it out.' In winter, he serves it in a hand roll with fresh wasabi and a dash of soy. 'About 80% of our menu is caught locally, so it's constantly changing with the seasons,' he adds. Like Sam at Fore Street, Jordan swapped the fast pace of a big city for the quieter charms of Portland, a decision that's clearly paid off. As I round things off with a miso caramel ice cream toastie — sweet and salty flavours woven through the creamy texture — he explains why the move was so rewarding. 'Portland's special,' he says. 'Instead of big chains, it's all independently owned restaurants, which creates a strong sense of community. Everything here just feels more collaborative.' I take the scenic route back to my hotel, passing the warm glow of dining rooms filled with patrons enjoying fresh-off-the-boat lobster rolls. Don't let the city's size fool you; in Portland, I've discovered a food scene that could go fork-to-fork with any of the US's culinary heavyweights. Published in the May 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
The young woman making waves in the harsh, male dominated world of fishing
It has long been an industry dominated by men. But 21-year-old Brooke Lamond has just been named trainee fisherman of the year. The young woman from Glasnakille in South Skye, has been around fishing boats since she was little yet has only recently embarked on life catching creel on the open water. And Ms Lamond, who had toyed with becoming a beautician, said she was delighted to be called a fisherman because 'I feel like that's the name of the job.' She told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: 'I wouldn't want that to change just because I'm a woman, it's almost emphasising the point that a woman's doing it. 'I would definitely say 'fisherman' is my title.' Ms Lamond has been going out on fishing boats with her father Kenny Lamond since she was eight-years-old but lost interest when she went to secondary school. She gave it another go in November when a family friend offered her a job on a boat catching shellfish. And now despite doubters having said she wouldn't be able to cope in a male-dominated industry, she has picked up the accolade at the Fishing News Awards. She said: 'It's nice to be able to say: 'I can do that and it doesn't matter that I'm a woman, it doesn't matter who you are.' 'I've had that attitude since I was young. My dad's disabled so he's always been looked at like 'surely he can't do fishing'. 'It was quite difficult listening to people saying I wasn't going to manage it. But I knew in my head that I could.'
BBC News
12-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
'Fisherman' is my job - even though I'm a woman
A 21-year-old woman is hoping to inspire more women to take up fishing after she was named trainee fisherman of the Lamond, from Glasnakille in South Skye, started going out on fishing boats with her dad when she was just lost interest when she went into secondary school, but decided to give it another go in November when a family friend offered her a job on a boat catching said she still called herself a "fisherman", adding: "I feel like that's the name of the job role." She told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I wouldn't want that to change just because I'm a woman, it's almost emphasising the point that it's a woman doing it. "I would definitely say 'fisherman' is my title."And despite doubters saying she wouldn't manage the role in a male-dominated industry, she came top in the category for the Fishing News Awards. Brooke said: "It's nice to be able to say 'I can do that and it doesn't matter that I'm a woman, it doesn't matter who you are'."I've had that attitude since I was young. My dad's disabled so he's always been looked at like 'surely he can't do fishing'. "It was quite difficult listening to people saying I wasn't going to manage it. But I knew in my head that I could." As the granddaughter of a boatbuilder and daughter of a fisherman, Brooke grew up very familiar with the told BBC Scotland News how she spent her childhood helping her dad on his mobile trawler."My dad's been fishing for over 40 years now, so I suppose I always had it in me," she said."Because of the fishing he does, we would stay away for days at a time, sometimes a week."It was good because it was time I could spend with him. It's very different to the fishing I'm doing now." 'Really tough' However Brooke was unsure about committing to the fishing industry as she got older."When you go to high school, your idea of what you want to do changes because there's so much going on," she said. "I needed a job through the winter last year and I never thought that fishing was going to be an option for me, but it just fell into place and it worked quite well."Family friend and local skipper James Robertson suggested she should try her hand at creel fishing on his boat off Elgol. "At the beginning it was really tough because I was the only woman down here," she said. "And my back was quite bad."But you get used to it very quickly because you're doing it day in, day out."As long as the weather is on your side then you're doing it as often as you can."During the 12 hour shifts on the water, the pair catch prawns, lobsters and brown crab which is then taken to a local factory and shipped off to places like Spain and Brooke fishes in the winter and spends the summers months helping out on boat tours around Skye."I like the pattern I'm in," she said."Even thought it's bitterly cold and the weather's not great in the wintertime, it's still enjoyable for me."And she hopes to see other women succeeding in the industry. "The most important thing for me is that people know women are out fishing," she said. "And you need more men like James who wouldn't think twice about taking women on, because a lot of men aren't like that and still think it's a man's job."Like many young people on Skye, Brooke plans to keep her seasonal working pattern."If I could, a skippers ticket would be quite cool to have," she said."I've not really made any set plans. I did a gel and BIAB [builder gel in a bottle] nail course the other month, I'm really interested in beauty as well. "Fishing is weather-dependent, so maybe on my off days I could do beauty. "I do what I enjoy and I'm not putting any pressure on myself."
