COA collaborators help launch podcast series on women adapting to change along Maine’s working waterfront

A new season of the Island Institute’s podcast From the Sea Up is highlighting the everyday, often overlooked ways women along Maine’s coast are adapting their marine livelihoods in the face of rapid environmental and economic change. The four‑episode series, Everyday Adaptation, draws on research from a NOAA Climate and Fisheries Adaptation–funded project led in partnership with College of the Atlantic, the University of Maine, and Maine Sea Grant.

The season’s first episode, “Diverse Species,” features seventh‑generation fisherman Emma Fernald of Bay Lady Scallops on Little Cranberry Island and lobsterwoman‑turned‑oyster‑farmer Krista Tripp of Aphrodite Oysters in Owls Head. Both women are strengthening their businesses by diversifying what and how they fish—an increasingly important strategy as warming waters and shifting species patterns reshape the Gulf of Maine.

The research behind the podcast is part of a multi‑institution collaboration examining how coastal communities are responding to environmental change. Dr. Hillary Smith, research affiliate and incoming visiting professor of marine studies and blue food systems at COA and research assistant professor at University of Maine, serves as the project’s principal investigator alongside co‑PIs Dr. Josh Stoll of UMaine, COA professor Dr. Todd Little‑Siebold, Natalie Springuel ’91 of Maine Sea Grant, COA adjunct faculty member Galen Koch, and Dr. Laurie Baker of Bates College. Koch is the executive producer of the podcast, with Smith serving as assistant producer.

The goal of the series is to illuminate the ingenuity already emerging within Maine’s fishing communities, Smith says.

“People hear a lot about coastal issues and fisheries policy, but not the everyday realities of the industry,” she says. “We’re trying to tell a more nuanced story—one that shows how women are adapting in small, creative ways, even without formal climate‑adaptation support. These are solutions being developed on the water, through trial and error, and they deserve attention.”

COA students and alumni at the center of the work

COA students and alumni played a significant role in shaping the research and storytelling behind the podcast. Jessica Bonilla ’24 helped collect the first interviews as a COA student and has continued to work on the project as a graduate student at University of Maine. Asy Xaytouthor ’26 and Emelia Lakebrink ’28 contributed research support and interview analysis. Camden Hunt ’22—who first trained in oral‑history methods through COA’s Mapping Ocean Stories project—helped develop story materials and data visualizations. Several components of the project grew directly out of COA coursework, island fieldwork, and student research on fisheries, seabirds, invasive species, and coastal community change.

Smith notes that these student contributions were essential to the project.

“So much of what this project accomplished was possible because of COA students—their field experience, their oral‑history training, and their deep familiarity with island communities,” she says.

Documenting adaptation from the ground up

The series explores four themes emerging from the team’s interviews with women working on the water: diversifying species and fishing practices; developing new markets and value‑added products; responding to biophysical threats such as biofouling; and experimenting with alternative economic models, including cooperatives and worker‑owned structures.

The research team intentionally asks fishers about “environmental change” rather than “climate change,” a shift that helps keep conversations grounded in lived experience.

“Our hope is that by documenting these everyday adaptations, we can help inform policy efforts so they reflect what’s already working on the ground,” Smith says. “People want better access to localized information and more opportunities to share knowledge along the coast.”

The collaboration reflects COA’s long‑standing commitment to community‑based research, island partnerships, and student‑driven inquiry along the Maine coast. Listen to the podcast at islandinstitute.org.