A local woman has been honored for her life’s work in marine biology and the commercial fishing industry.
Ellen Goethel, of Hampton, long known in the Seacoast for her deep knowledge of Gulf of Maine species and her advocacy for fishermen, will be one of three recipients of this year’s National Fisherman Highliner Award, which recognizes individuals “whose work has made a lasting impact on the commercial fishing industry and the communities that depend on it.”
“I was stunned, absolutely stunned when they called to tell me I received this award,” Goethel said from her winter home in Stuart, Florida. “I have no idea who nominated me. But I’m greatly honored.”
Goethel and her fellow 2026 honorees — Bob Gill of Florida and Tele Aadsen of Alaska — will be recognized during the Highliner Social & Awards at the Pacific Marine Expo on Thursday, Nov. 19, at the Seattle Convention Center. The event, according to the magazine, brings the industry together to celebrate those helping move commercial fishing forward.
Ellen Goethel honored for a lifetime of work
Goethel owns Explore the Ocean World Oceanarium, which she has run at Hampton Beach since 2013. Under her guidance, thousands of visitors of all ages have explored the sea through hands‑on tours featuring live marine animals and preserved specimens.
She also writes a popular Seacoastonline column, where she teaches readers about the marine life that thrives in the Gulf of Maine.
According to National Fisherman magazine, it was Goethel’s decades of work in the science, conservation, education, and advocacy of the fisheries industry that brought her to its attention. The wife of retired commercial fisherman David Goethel of Hampton, the magazine said, Ellen Goethel used her education and love of marine biology to “bridge the gap between fishermen, scientists, regulators, and the public, advocating for fisheries management that protects marine resources while remaining practical for working fishermen.”
Her work has ranged from fisheries‑management roles to public education at her Oceanarium, along with decades of advocacy on issues facing New England’s commercial fleet.
Goethel and her husband have also been recognized by the Gulf of Maine Council for their work protecting fisheries and marine resources, according to National Fisherman magazine.
“For decades, she has used science, education, and advocacy to support the survival of the region’s fisheries and the people who depend on them,” stated the magazine. “While her work has largely taken place shoreside, Goethel has demonstrated just how critical that role can be, dedicating her career to giving fishermen a voice and helping bridge the divide between the industry, scientists, regulators, and the public.”
A family rooted in fishing
Goethel didn’t start by the ocean; she grew up near Buffalo, New York, and first felt the pull of marine life during a fifth‑grade visit to an aquarium.
“That was it,” Goethel said. “I got home and told my mother, ‘I’m going to be a marine biologist. And she said, ‘That’s nice, dear; what is that?’”
From that point on, summer family vacations always included a trip to the New England Seacoast, where Goethel fell in love with the Gulf of Maine. It brought her to Northeastern University as a college student to study the science, and to an internship at the New England Aquarium, where she honed her skills in teaching others about the sea.
“I think I learned more working at the New England Aquarium than I did in college,” she said.
Her time there would also bring her to New Hampshire’s Seacoast.
“I met my husband, David, at the New England Aquarium,” she said. “He was working there after graduating from BU. He has a degree in biology.”
David Goethel may be trained as a biologist, but his passion for fishing started when he was a kid.
“Dave’s from Needham, Massachusetts, but he started fishing in Seabrook on Eastman’s boats when he was 9 years old,” she said. “They let him go along, and he’d bait people’s hooks or whatever he could, and they let him fish on the trips. He’d go back every summer.”
The Goethels married in 1976, and settled on the New Hampshire Seacoast. Ellen transferred from Northeastern to UNH, earning her degree in invertebrate zoology in 1978.
They raised two children and spent their lives working side by side — often with Ellen on deck as part of David’s crew aboard their commercial fishing boats — learning from the sea and living by it. David became one of New Hampshire’s most respected commercial fishermen and received the National Fisherman Highliner Award in 2004.
Together, the couple stood at the forefront of both research and the long-running battles over federal regulations that have challenged the financial survival of New Hampshire’s small-boat fleet.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Angeljean Chiaramida, news@seacoastonline.com / Portsmouth Herald
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