Email this page
Print this page
del.icio.us
digg
“Finest kind,” Stephen Robbins III says, his way of agreeing to the subject at hand. That’s Steve, or Stevie Three, as he’s also known, the third in his family to carry that name in five generations of Stonington fishermen. Robbins started fishing at 10 and joined his father and uncle that summer making five-day offshore fishing trips, rare for a child, which led to a career in one of the most dangerous industries in the world.
Twenty-five years of commercial fishing left his eyes light-sensitive from bleach and his body, after multiple surgeries on various parts, no longer fit for heavy work. So at 35, Robbins, married with two daughters, came ashore. Of that decision, he says, “It took a long time to say, ‘I’ve got to do something else.’”
After a short stint at Maine’s Department of Marine Resources, he started this past January as manager of the Stonington Lobster Cooperative, the largest in Maine—a job that came with 100 bosses.
Although each of Maine’s 20 lobster co-ops does things a bit differently, all require that each fisherman voted in as a member buy at least one share in the co-op. As co-op manager, Robbins sets the prices paid to Stonington’s fishermen, trying to pay the highest price possible. Robbins must also find a market for the lobsters he buys. The prices he is able to get can vary daily and are based on supply, quality, size, and demand. According to a knowledgeable co-op director, Robbins manages an $8 million to $10 million a year business. After paying all bills, at the end of the year, any money left over is distributed to members as a dividend or bonus.
With stakes that high, it’s understandable that each shareholder in the Stonington Lobster Co-op, not just the directors, feels he or she has a say in how it should be run. Personalities aside, pricing, buying, selling, and shipping this live, highly perishable product so it arrives tail arched and flapping is one of the most complex jobs imaginable. Robbins’ description is more matter-of-fact: “Every day is different,” he says. He admits staying on top of things often means getting only two or three hours of sleep a night, sometimes more. “You try to make yourself available to people. I sleep when I can.”
What Robbins’ shoreside job lacks in physical danger it makes up in stress, exacerbated by intense competition between fishermen. He says part of his job is “keeping the peace.” (A veteran co-op manager claims if he pleases 50% of his fishermen on any given day, he’s done well.) Competition grows as shedder season approaches.
Shedder, or soft shell, lobster season arrives in Maine anywhere from July 4th to October. When the shedders hit, every part of the lobster industry cranks up to full speed. This is the time the fisherman makes the money that carries him through the icy months. Robbins is experiencing his first managerial shedder season, and the learning curve is steep.
But it isn’t throwing him. A former teacher remembers Robbins getting a 97 on a test and being upset he hadn’t done better. “He was a wonderful boy,” she says, “but driven. He’d take everything to heart.”
Co-op director Richard Bridges, who’s also known Robbins since he was a child, was “a little leery” about hiring him because of his youth and nerves. Bridges now says, “I can’t say enough about Stevie Three. He’s doing a remarkable job.” Co-op president Frank Gotwals shares the thumbs-up: “I think the things everybody was hoping he’d exhibit, he has.”
With a report card like that, Robbins may soon get to catch up on some sleep, or even take a day off, but, he adds, “There’s a lot of year left.”
Twenty-five years of commercial fishing left his eyes light-sensitive from bleach and his body, after multiple surgeries on various parts, no longer fit for heavy work. So at 35, Robbins, married with two daughters, came ashore. Of that decision, he says, “It took a long time to say, ‘I’ve got to do something else.’”
After a short stint at Maine’s Department of Marine Resources, he started this past January as manager of the Stonington Lobster Cooperative, the largest in Maine—a job that came with 100 bosses.
Advertisement
Although each of Maine’s 20 lobster co-ops does things a bit differently, all require that each fisherman voted in as a member buy at least one share in the co-op. As co-op manager, Robbins sets the prices paid to Stonington’s fishermen, trying to pay the highest price possible. Robbins must also find a market for the lobsters he buys. The prices he is able to get can vary daily and are based on supply, quality, size, and demand. According to a knowledgeable co-op director, Robbins manages an $8 million to $10 million a year business. After paying all bills, at the end of the year, any money left over is distributed to members as a dividend or bonus.
With stakes that high, it’s understandable that each shareholder in the Stonington Lobster Co-op, not just the directors, feels he or she has a say in how it should be run. Personalities aside, pricing, buying, selling, and shipping this live, highly perishable product so it arrives tail arched and flapping is one of the most complex jobs imaginable. Robbins’ description is more matter-of-fact: “Every day is different,” he says. He admits staying on top of things often means getting only two or three hours of sleep a night, sometimes more. “You try to make yourself available to people. I sleep when I can.”
What Robbins’ shoreside job lacks in physical danger it makes up in stress, exacerbated by intense competition between fishermen. He says part of his job is “keeping the peace.” (A veteran co-op manager claims if he pleases 50% of his fishermen on any given day, he’s done well.) Competition grows as shedder season approaches.
Shedder, or soft shell, lobster season arrives in Maine anywhere from July 4th to October. When the shedders hit, every part of the lobster industry cranks up to full speed. This is the time the fisherman makes the money that carries him through the icy months. Robbins is experiencing his first managerial shedder season, and the learning curve is steep.
But it isn’t throwing him. A former teacher remembers Robbins getting a 97 on a test and being upset he hadn’t done better. “He was a wonderful boy,” she says, “but driven. He’d take everything to heart.”
Co-op director Richard Bridges, who’s also known Robbins since he was a child, was “a little leery” about hiring him because of his youth and nerves. Bridges now says, “I can’t say enough about Stevie Three. He’s doing a remarkable job.” Co-op president Frank Gotwals shares the thumbs-up: “I think the things everybody was hoping he’d exhibit, he has.”
With a report card like that, Robbins may soon get to catch up on some sleep, or even take a day off, but, he adds, “There’s a lot of year left.”
