MEMIC Hosts New Work of Noted Photojournalist Earl Dotter 'the Price of Fish'
May 27, 2003 | Safety
PORTLAND, Maine, May 27, 2003 – This summer Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC) will host a new exhibit from noted Photojournalist Earl Dotter. Titled "The Price of Fish: Our Nation's Most Perilous Trade Takes Life and Limb in New England", the exhibit chronicles the inherent dangers of working in the fishing industry in coastal and North Atlantic waters.
The exhibit opened Sunday, June 1 with a special showing from 12 noon to 2 p.m. It will remain at MEMIC, near Portland's waterfront at 261 Commercial Street, through August 29. The 71-image photo exhibit will be available for viewing by the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday.
Among the subject of Dotter's work was a crew from the Portland-based stern trawler, the Edward L. Moore. In December of 2000, Dotter photographed the crew as it traveled 120 miles offshore to pursue cod, haddock, pollock, monkfish, hake and flounder in an area known as 'Wrecked Bottom and The Hat'. Dotter also followed lobstermen from Vinalhaven, scallop draggers in Eastport and sea urchin fishermen in Cobscook Bay.
Dotter, of Silver Spring, Maryland, has been documenting dangerous work through the lens of his camera for more than 30 years. He has photographed coal miners, steel workers, textile workers and meat cutters. In 1998, his exhibit "The Quiet Sickness, a Photographic Chronicle of Hazardous Work in America" was on display at Portland's Danforth Gallery. He is motivated by a belief that the awareness raised by his photographs can help lead to safer workplaces as well as an appreciation of the dangerous conditions in which some people toil.
"I believe that of all of the options for effective communication, photographs can be one of the most powerful and persuasive," Dotter said. " My experience (has) taught me that attention from fishermen within the industry and from concerned citizens can result in commercial fishing receding from the top of the list of most dangerous occupations in the USA."
As the state's best-known advocate for workplace safety, MEMIC agreed to serve as the venue for the exhibit in Portland. While the company, the largest workers' compensation insurer in Maine, doesn't insure fishermen (who are covered under federal law), it supports workplace safety in all professions.
"We care about workplace safety for everyone, whether we insure them or not," said MEMIC President and CEO John T. Leonard. "We believe that Mr. Dotter's work will help shed some light on the dangers of fishing in New England. Just by raising awareness, his work can help to improve safety for another important group of workers here in Maine and elsewhere. That's the kind of thing MEMIC is proud to support."
To contact Earl Dotter, call (240) 893-0263 or by e-mail at earldotter@erols.com. To find out more about him and his work, go to www.earldotter.com. For additional information about exhibit hours, contact Michael Bourque at MEMIC at (207) 791-3314 or via e-mail at mbourque@memic.com.
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Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC) is Maine's largest and leading workers' compensation insurer, providing coverage to more than 21,000 Maine employers and their estimated 250,000 employees. Since MEMIC's inception in 1993, the company has focused its energy on reducing workplace injuries. In that span, workplace injuries in Maine have been reduced by approximately 30 percent despite increasing employment. In addition, workers' compensation insurance rates have declined by nearly 30 percent. MEMIC is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. It is the parent company of MEMIC Indemnity Company, a workers' compensation specialty company based in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The exhibit opened Sunday, June 1 with a special showing from 12 noon to 2 p.m. It will remain at MEMIC, near Portland's waterfront at 261 Commercial Street, through August 29. The 71-image photo exhibit will be available for viewing by the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday.
Among the subject of Dotter's work was a crew from the Portland-based stern trawler, the Edward L. Moore. In December of 2000, Dotter photographed the crew as it traveled 120 miles offshore to pursue cod, haddock, pollock, monkfish, hake and flounder in an area known as 'Wrecked Bottom and The Hat'. Dotter also followed lobstermen from Vinalhaven, scallop draggers in Eastport and sea urchin fishermen in Cobscook Bay.
Dotter, of Silver Spring, Maryland, has been documenting dangerous work through the lens of his camera for more than 30 years. He has photographed coal miners, steel workers, textile workers and meat cutters. In 1998, his exhibit "The Quiet Sickness, a Photographic Chronicle of Hazardous Work in America" was on display at Portland's Danforth Gallery. He is motivated by a belief that the awareness raised by his photographs can help lead to safer workplaces as well as an appreciation of the dangerous conditions in which some people toil.
"I believe that of all of the options for effective communication, photographs can be one of the most powerful and persuasive," Dotter said. " My experience (has) taught me that attention from fishermen within the industry and from concerned citizens can result in commercial fishing receding from the top of the list of most dangerous occupations in the USA."
As the state's best-known advocate for workplace safety, MEMIC agreed to serve as the venue for the exhibit in Portland. While the company, the largest workers' compensation insurer in Maine, doesn't insure fishermen (who are covered under federal law), it supports workplace safety in all professions.
"We care about workplace safety for everyone, whether we insure them or not," said MEMIC President and CEO John T. Leonard. "We believe that Mr. Dotter's work will help shed some light on the dangers of fishing in New England. Just by raising awareness, his work can help to improve safety for another important group of workers here in Maine and elsewhere. That's the kind of thing MEMIC is proud to support."
To contact Earl Dotter, call (240) 893-0263 or by e-mail at earldotter@erols.com. To find out more about him and his work, go to www.earldotter.com. For additional information about exhibit hours, contact Michael Bourque at MEMIC at (207) 791-3314 or via e-mail at mbourque@memic.com.
Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC) is Maine's largest and leading workers' compensation insurer, providing coverage to more than 21,000 Maine employers and their estimated 250,000 employees. Since MEMIC's inception in 1993, the company has focused its energy on reducing workplace injuries. In that span, workplace injuries in Maine have been reduced by approximately 30 percent despite increasing employment. In addition, workers' compensation insurance rates have declined by nearly 30 percent. MEMIC is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. It is the parent company of MEMIC Indemnity Company, a workers' compensation specialty company based in Manchester, New Hampshire.