- Playing
- The Urban Lobsterman
- From
- Curt Nickisch
As a kid, Skip Ryan was captivated by lost lobster traps he found washed up on the beach. He started catching lobsters in the Boston Harbor in the 1950s, and has made a living from it in 1964. He's still an urban lobsterman today, but the harbor and city have changed. And so has the desire to fish for lobsters. Skip is 68, and he's not sure who will take over his boat when he can't do it anymore. But he still enjoys it, and this urban lobsterman is not going to give it up yet.
More from Curt Nickisch
Double Arm Transplant Hopeful In Her Own Words
(02:25)
From: Curt Nickisch
Meet Katy Hayes. She’s hoping to get her arms back in the world's first-ever double arm transplant above the elbow. The Texas mom lost all her limbs two years ago from a ...
Why Your Dog Can Get Vaccinated Against Lyme Disease And You Can’t
(07:26)
From: Curt Nickisch
Modern science has given us a vaccine to protect against Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the United States. But we don't use it.
WWII Army Musician Remembers
(06:18)
From: Curt Nickisch
Love of music prompted Homer Parce to sign up for an army band. Military service whisked the small town South Dakota boy across the Pacific just as the U.S. was entering ...
Pearl Harbor Veteran Jim Peacock Remembers
(09:02)
From: Curt Nickisch
Jim Peacock is one of only a few dozen U.S. veterans who witnessed both the beginning of World War II at Pearl Harbor and the war's end on deck the U.S.S. Missouri. He ...
Mitt Romney: The Corporate Years
(05:46)
From: Curt Nickisch
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney made his fortune in private equity by restructuring companies, sometimes at the expense of jobs. His quarter century of corporate ...
Nonprofit Narrows Science Gap Between U.S. And Africa
(04:19)
From: Curt Nickisch
The gap between science in the U.S. and Africa is as wide as the ocean between them. But a nonprofit startup is trying to be a good Samaritan with America's scientific ...
Remembering 9/11: Internet Co. Keeps Founder's Spirit Alive
(06:29)
From: Curt Nickisch
Daniel Lewin, the co-founder of a Boston-area Internet company, died trying to stop the terrorist attack aboard American Airlines Flight 11 on 9/11. Many doubted his company ...
A Third Way Between Renting and Buying? Homeownership Series Part 4
(04:06)
From: Curt Nickisch
We've heard from people relieved to be renting. We've heard from homeowners struggling to make it work. Could there another way? In the wake of the housing collapse there ...
Two Renting Couples, No Regrets - Homeownership Series Part 3
(05:39)
From: Curt Nickisch
Two couples from Boston's Brighton neighborhood -- one young, one old -- have had the money to buy a home but choose to keep renting. In the third part of our series, we meet ...
Doubting the Suburban Dream Home - Homeownership Series Part 2
(04:23)
From: Curt Nickisch
Andrea and Raymond Quenneville think they timed it about as well as they could, taking the plunge last year at what they considered a low point in the market. They bought a ...
Related Pieces
Piece Description
As a kid, Skip Ryan was captivated by lost lobster traps he found washed up on the beach. He started catching lobsters in the Boston Harbor in the 1950s, and has made a living from it in 1964. He's still an urban lobsterman today, but the harbor and city have changed. And so has the desire to fish for lobsters. Skip is 68, and he's not sure who will take over his boat when he can't do it anymore. But he still enjoys it, and this urban lobsterman is not going to give it up yet.
Broadcast History
WBUR, July 8, 2010
Transcript
SUGGESTED LEAD:
The age-old fishery industry. It conjures a solitary figure making a living off the bounty of the lonely seas. But many American fishermen and women earn their livelihoods in the shadow of skyscrapers.
In Boston, amid the cargo vessels and whale-watching boats that motor in and out of the harbor there each day, a handful of fishing vessels still make their livelihoods from the bounty of the harbor. Curt Nickisch spent the day on a lobster boat and produced this story.
STORY:
No one would blame Skip Ryan if he didn’t do this anymore.
UP FULL DRAGGING NAT, THEN UNDER NARRATION
It’s four o’clock in the morning, and he’s dragging a plastic trunk of fish carcasses across the dock toward his boat. They stink.
UP FULL DRAGGING NAT AGAIN
Skip’s sixty-eight years old. He’s got creases in his neck and his canvas work pants barely hang on his lean frame. Those f...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:The age-old fishery industry. It conjures a solitary figure making a living off the bounty of the sea. But many American fishermen and women earn their livelihoods in the shadow of the skyscrapers.
In Boston, amid the cargo vessels and whale-watching boats that motor in and out of the harbor there each day, a handful of fishing vessels still make their livelihoods from the bounty of the harbor. Curt Nickisch spent the day on a lobster boat and produced this story.
OUTRO:Of 4 purchasers of this piece...
- 4 also bought:
- 4 also bought:
That Was Invented By... Whom??? (06:29) - 4 also bought:
Growing with Oysters (05:54) - 4 also bought:
- 4 also bought:
Rennies (05:00)
