Luke's Lobster: Opening the Lobster Fishing Pipeline
Rebecca D.
B Corp Founder, Former COO | Partnering with leaders of purpose-driven companies to accelerate impact with resilience | Strategist | Leadership Coach, ACC | ex-Aspen Institute | Coca Cola Scholar
While lots of us love Maine lobster, we rarely stop to think about who’s involved in getting it to our plates. Those of us who live near the Maine coast have friends or family who haul lobster traps. Even then, in fourteen years, I’ve only been out once with lobstermen actively hauling traps! It’s tough work to fish for lobster at scale commercially, and even more so, if you don’t have a family member or friend to teach you the ropes, figuratively and literally.
?
Helping to open the doors to commercial fishing for lobster is something that certified B Corp, Maine-based Luke's Lobster is committed to doing through its “Lift All Boats” program. The program is aimed at students under 18 who don’t have ready access to family mentoring.
?
As Luke’s Lobster shares:
“Getting a license to lobster professionally requires a many-years-long wait, unless you begin before the age of 18 and complete a student lobster license program. This program is impossible to complete without the support of existing lobstermen, access to a boat and gear, and time on the water.”
?
What do I appreciate about this program?? A few things come to mind.
?
领英推荐
Questions for consideration, reflection, and provocation:
?
At BIG Acts, we want to help great people do BIG things.? We love to honor good things already being done and ask some questions that might inspire you to go BIG.
?
Did this get your neurons firing? If so, what’s on your mind?
[1] Gulf of Maine Institute research: https://gmri.org/stories/gulf-of-maine-warming-update-spring-2023/
Quote from https://lukeslobster.com/pages/lift-all-boats (accessed Sept. 26, 2023)
To read a more in-depth newspaper article on "Lift All Boats", see: https://www.pressherald.com/2023/09/17/lobster-apprenticeship-program-expands-access-to-iconic-maine-industry/
Co-founder and President at Tend Health Inc.
1 年Rebecca, I liked your questions at the end of the article almost as much as the article itself. Both got me thinking about my own community and whether/what similar barriers and opportunities exist here. I'm excited to know that Luke's Lobster has this program and, as Jeremy pointed out, I'm impressed by their bravery too. I wasn't sure from the article whether they also run a lobster shack where I can go buy lobster next summer but if so, let's go!
I appreciate this story, even as someone who is allergic to lobster! I love that this effort is rooted in place- a Maine-based company using its expertise to improve the communities that it is closest to. And I love this example of a company using its core expertise to not only improve opportunity for people in the local community and improve its own pool of future employees, but also potentially strengthening the local industry as a whole. My question is how might the skills and experiences gained through this program also benefit participants if they decide to enter a different industry? What are participants gaining that another employer might also find valuable?
What I really love about this program is not necessarily the program itself, but the courage it took Luke's to do it. For every person that loves this program, there is likely to be one that pushes back. In the time of cancel culture, doing something BIG like this can be scary. The lobstering industry in Maine is based on families who have been in the industry for generations. It's not easy for people outside that network to get in and you can understand how people in the industry would want to protect their fishing lifestyle. In many ways I view lobstering as a microcosm for Maine. For many Mainers you are either from Maine or from away. While this may seem quaint, it can also come off as uninviting. I don't think that is often how it is intended, but perception is reality. As more and more refugees and asylum seekers come to Maine it is critical that they feel welcome and accepted here. If the lobstering industry in Maine is invitational to people who have historically not been present in it, I think it represents a larger gesture that regardless of where you come from or what color your skin might be, you are welcome in Maine. Kudos to Luke's Lobster for launching this program & to Rebecca D. for recognizing it.
Sustainability Leader | White House Champion of Change | Driving Food & Agriculture Innovation for Climate Change Solutions | Scaling Growth & Operations through Purpose-Driven Stewardship | CSR & ESG Strategy
1 年Thanks for sharing great post and framework questions for “lifting all boats” ???