Capt. Keith Colburn of TV’s “Deadliest Catch” will be in attendance at this year’s Maine Fishermen’s Forum, being held at the Samoset Resort in Rockland March 3-5. He is participating in the Thursday seminar, “Questioning our Changing Oceans,” which also features Buddy Guindon, star of “Big Fish - Texas.” Other panel members include fishermen from California (John Mellor, F/V High Hopes) and Australia (Linda Williams, Western Australian Rock Lobster Fishery), and the focus is on an active discussion with audience participation. Captain Colburn will also be participating all weekend of the Forum and will once again be working with the kids in the pool, teaching safety training, on Saturday morning.

This year’s event also features the largest trade show in the history of the Forum - over 130 exhibitors who will be displaying their wares for fishermen, scientists and the managers who attend the show annually. There will also be educational seminars covering topics from Aquaculture, marketing of Maine Lobster, Eastern Maine Skippers Program, DMR Lobster Science Update, and Maine’s Scallop Fishery, to name a few. A full seminar schedule with detailed descriptions is available on the website: www.mainefishermensforum.org.

As always, there will be a scholarship auction, a silent auction and bucket raffles to raise funds for scholarships, to be awarded on Saturday night. To date, the Forum has awarded over $324,000 in scholarships to students from families involved in Maine fisheries.

Scholarship applications are still being solicited. For any questions, please contact Chilloa Young, Coordinator at (207) 442-7700, or by email at coordinator@mainefishermensforum.org.