This Thursday, October 16, will mark the first-ever Downeast Fishing Family Forum in Ellsworth, which organizers say will offer the community a place to "discuss the issues that matter most."

Co-organizer Amanda Smith, with the Sunrise County Economic Council , is married to a lobster fisherman, and lives in the Jonesport-Beals Island area. She says over the last few years, fishing communities like hers have faced lots of similar challenges, like worrying about the future of the industry, and experiencing the heartache of losing loved ones at sea .

"We often don't recognize just how much stress there is on the shoulders of the whole fishing family unit and our communities," said Smith.

Those small communities can also be isolated, and it's hard for busy fishing families to step ba

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