POCF and Writer Maressa Voss on Publishing Her First Novel While Balancing Motherhood, Advocacy, and Marriage to a Commercial Fisherman.

Maressa Voss is a writer, the partner of a commercial fisherman, and a mother living in Santa Barbara, CA. Beyond our shared passion for writing, we have another unique connection—her husband, James, is my husband’s cousin!

Through marriage, both Maressa and I have been immersed in the culture of this unique industry—one that has been woven into our families for generations.

As a side note, Our theme this month is “Bringing the Feminine into Fishing,” which is a HUGE part of Advocacy. I feel the themes complement each other so much because, since the beginning of our economic civilization, POCFs have been instrumental in keeping the industry going and protecting our fisheries, fishermen, and fishing families. Shout out to POCFs everywhere!

In this episode, we explore Maressa’s journey, including how she carved out her identity as a writer and author while balancing motherhood, life as a commercial fisherman’s wife, and advocating for the California spiny lobster fishery.

Let’s dive in!

Show Resources:

Maressa’s Interview on POCFPride.com in April 2020! 

IG: @maressakate 

Bluesky: @maressakate.bsky.social

www.maressavoss.com

 

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POCF Maressa Voss on Dating a Lobster and Sockeye Salmon Fisherman

Reading these archival interviews from when we started this community brings me so much joy, thinking about how much we’ve grown as a group and how much life has passed individually with our fishermen. I’m sharing this one because Maressa Voss will be featured on our podcast in early 2025, so this is a fun head’s up on where’s she’s been before we learn what’s she’s been up to (like publishing a book, When Shadows Grow Tall!).

Since this interview, she and her hubby, James, have married, had a beautiful baby boy, and, as I mentioned, birthed a book. GO GIRL! Maressa was one of our community’s earliest supporters, as she shares intimate stories and advice on how she navigates her relationship with a fisherman, fresh off their engagement. 

This interview was initially written in April 2020. 

Let’s take a step back in time…

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Fishermen’s Wives: Coping with an Extraordinary Occupation

I’m intentionally posting this for our first blog post in February because our theme this month is “Feminine Advocacy” and the importance of bringing our feminine ways of thought, processes, minds, and hearts into fishing. You’ll see this theme played out each Wednesday when a new podcast episode drops, too!

The excerpt from “Fishermen’s Wives: Coping with an Extraordinary Occupation” is a beautiful reminder of how far we’ve come as women and POCFs and the wisdom we’ve gained from those before us, giving us strength and courage to take on what lies ahead.

Thank YOU for being a part of this community. Your presence is felt and valued by me and so many others in our community that you haven’t met in person. Yet your energy is felt and ripples out to each of us as we walk arm and arm through this incredible experience of being a Partner of Commercial Fisherman, feeling uplifted with the knowledge that we are not alone.

Check out the email I received from a listener about this episode: 

“Hi, Megan. I hope this message finds you well! I am an avid listener of your POCF podcast and really enjoyed your episode this week. The book you mentioned this week, ‘Fishermen’s Wives: Coping with an Extraordinary Occupation’ is from almost 50 years ago, but so much of it remains true!

I both enjoyed and appreciated the positive framing of this book and your subsequent episode. It delights me to see a seasoned POCF, such as yourself,  taking so much pride in your work in this industry. All too often, ‘women’s work’ is undervalued in our society; this goes for the commercial fishing industry, too…”

And then there was that time I went to the Work Boat Show and felt ALL KINDs of gender-gapping going on. You’ll want to hear about it. Let’s discuss…

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