NOAA's Voice from the Fisheries project adds online multimedia exhibit

The Voices from the Fisheries oral history project is proud to announce the creation of six multimedia exhibits featuring 30 interviews from nine participating collections. These exhibits explore the heritage and culture of the fishing industry. Each has a unique theme such as Life as a Fisherman, Fishing Knowledge and Techniques, At Sea: New Bedford, and Beyond the Boat. The 2-minute audio clips provide a glimpse into each individual’s interview and provide a sampling of the richness and diversity of the collections contained in the database.

The purpose of the Voices from the Fisheries project is to consolidate existing and future oral history interviews and interview collections related to the human experience with marine ecosystems and the Great Lakes region.  Each story archived here is unique and precious in its own right, but when combined with others will become important resources for documenting our past and our continuing connection with the oceans and Great Lakes. (See our previous article on Fyddeye: Capturing Oral Histories – Voices from the Fisheries Project.)

The website also provides links to other oral history projects and collections from around the United States. Information about the project, directions on how to participate, a bibliography of films and books, and answers to frequently asked questions can be found on the site.

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New Kindle edition launched of The Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History

I'm really excited to announce the release of an ebook edition of the Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History for Kindle devices. The mobile edition of the Fyddeye Guide features new listings, updates of listings, and minor changes to the paper edition published earlier this year. The Kindle edition may be downloaded immediately from the Kindle Store at http://www.amazon.com. The price for the Kindle edition is $6.99.

Owners of other mobile devices, including iPhone, Windows PC, Mac, Blackberry, iPad, and devices running the Android and Windows Phone 7 operating systems, can view the mobile edition of the Fyddeye Guide by installing a free Kindle Reading App from Amazon.com.

The mobile and paperback editions of the Fyddeye Guide to America’s Maritime History include more than 2,000 easy-to-browse listings of historic ships, spectacular lighthouses, and intriguing maritime museums in the United States. The Guide includes nearly 30 photographs, four maps, a calendar of popular maritime festivals, and special articles by Fyddeye.com contributing writers. The Guide covers maritime history attractions in the lower 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The Fyddeye Guide is the first maritime history research and travel guide for mobile reading devices. Readers use the Guide to plan a family trip, map out a heritage travel experience, research local history, or find a heritage organization to help them discover the sea captain in their family tree. The Guide includes three suggested travel itineraries focused on west coast, northeast, and Michigan lighthouses.

I'm working on an edition of the Guide for the new Google eBookstore. Stay tuned!

Notable reviews of the Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History

Any serious student of the maritime heritage of America will find this an invaluable addition to their library — and the more general reader will find it becomes well-thumbed as a comprehensive guide.
—Julian Stockwin, author of Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany

Here are some notable reviews of The Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History.

Julian Stockwin, author of the Kydd series of nautical fiction
An invaluable addition to [the serious student's] library.

Rick Spilman, The Old Salt Blog
In general, I am very impressed by the scope, organization and level of detail. Highly recommended.

Candace Brown, Good Life Northwest
Between its glossy covers, this impressive work contains everything a person could want in the way of information about our country's historic maritime treasures, as well as some interesting articles. Whether you are doing research of a scholarly nature, or simply planning a vacation, the well-organized format (indexed by city) makes it easy to find not only heritage vessels and sites, but also organizations, educational resources, and more.

Hal Barstow, Los Angeles Maritime Institute
Anyone with an interest in tall ships, lighthouses, historic ships, maritime museums, or any of a number of other maritime topics/locations/organizations will find Joe Follansbee's "The Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History" a much needed and valuable reference. (via Amazon.com)

Barbara McMichael, Tacoma News Tribune
You’ll get good value out of this well-researched guide.

Cindy Vallar, Pirates and Privateers
The Fyddeye Guide is a great reference for when you’re planning a vacation or you find yourself in a city and want to know what maritime attractions are located in the area.

The Fyddeye team encourages you to post your reviews—good and bad—of the Fyddeye Guide on Amazon's Fyddeye Guide page, Facebook, and any other website. Let us know, and we'll link to you.

U.S., Spain sign agreement aimed at protecting underwater maritime history resources

Washington, D.C.—NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Spain’s Ministry of Culture announced have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding outlining a framework to jointly identify, protect, manage and preserve underwater cultural resources of mutual interest within their respective areas of responsibility.

The arrangement announced on Wednesday calls for the exchange of information on actual or potential identification and location of underwater cultural resources, research and archeological examination of the resources, provision of information concerning potential or actual unauthorized disturbances of underwater cultural resources, cooperation with nongovernmental organizations engaged in historical or archeological programs compatible with the objectives of the arrangement, and preparation and dissemination of educational and outreach materials.

“Today marks the beginning of a more formal and active interaction between NOAA and Spain as we learn from each other’s archives and share that information for a better understanding and appreciation of Spain’s important maritime cultural legacy in America,” said Daniel J. Basta, director of NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program.

An example of the type of work that will benefit from the new arrangement is the discovery of a wreck that may be the Spanish ship San Agustin, which was lost in November 1595 in the California waters of the Gulf of Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and Point Reyes National Seashore. The U.S. National Park Service located an offshore wreck site during a survey of Drakes Bay in 1982-1983. No excavation of the buried wreck site offshore has been done to confirm that it is all or a portion of the lost galleon. The National Marine Sanctuary Program, working with partners in Spain as well as the Park Service, will have a strengthened ability to discuss appropriate actions to better understand and document that shipwreck in the future.

Read more: U.S., Spain sign agreement aimed at protecting underwater maritime history resources