New lobster cooperative thrives on Islesboro

Conover, Gilbert and Wallace Leach, and Conover's dog Lily Bonnie L. Mowery-Oldham

Some might define the perfect job as sitting at a desk and pushing a pencil. Others would define it as hauling lobster traps in Penobscot Bay. In his role as founder of Islesboro's new Spruce Island Lobster Co-operative, Josh Conover seems to have found a way to combine these two extremes, blending the out-in-the-elements life of a fisherman with the business-oriented overview of a manager.

A recent graduate of the University of Maine, Conover started selling lobsters door-to-door on Islesboro at the age of 11, to finance the expansion of his baseball card collection. For this energetic entrepreneur, who hauled his first traps from his friend Abe's canoe, founding the Spruce Island Lobster Cooperative this year was a logical progression. It would seem that Conover has fishing in his blood; at college he continued fishing while earning a degree in Resource and Agribusiness Management.

As a senior project at UMO, Conover, wondering why there wasn't already a lobster cooperative in existence on Islesboro, decided to work on establishing one. He consulted with Norah Warren, manager of Vinalhaven's large and successful lobster co-op, and studied handbooks on founding cooperatives. He did an internship with the federally-funded Farm Credit of Maine.

His first agenda item, of course, was to talk to key fishermen on Islesboro to find out if they were sufficiently interested in the idea to participate. After Conover held a series of informational meetings, a core group emerged who were willing to make the commitment.

The Spruce Island Lobster Coop-erative was incorporated on May 31, 2001. Its members and officers include President-Treasurer Josh Conover, Vice President Hoyt Grindle, Secretary Bill Reidy, Kerry Pendleton, Fred Thomas, John Zlotkowski, Gilbert Leach, and Wallace Leach. All the members own stock in the cooperative; they fish for themselves, but together share the profits. Strength in numbers means lobstermen who band together in such an effort have the chance to combine their skills and experience to haul more lobsters and sell them for a better price.

Trenton Bridge Seafood buys their catch and has developed a good working relationship with the cooperative. The co-op sold about 100,000 pounds of lobsters this season, a good first year in spite of a dwindling supply of lobster. Conover believes next year will be even smoother, because after having gotten their feet wet, they've learned a few shortcuts and ways to improve the business. As a mark of how successful they have been, the cooperative was able to realize an end-of-the-season bonus for themselves - a 2001 GMC 14-foot rack body truck, which they'll use to haul bait.

"He knows all the details"

On a chilly morning at the Lincolnville dock, I watched as Gilbert and Wallace Leach helped Conover load lobsters onto a Trenton Bridge Sea-food truck. As the usual crowd of hangers-on swapped insults and asked how the fishing was, Conover's golden retriever Lily trotted here and there, supervising the proceedings.

When I asked co-op members Gilbert and Wallace, seasoned Islesboro fishermen, for input about the cooperative, they both said, "Just ask Josh; he knows all the details." I wondered if they trusted Conover to give me the straight story. Gilbert replied, "If we can trust him with the checkbook, I guess we can trust him with just about anything." Conover just grinned, making a somewhat rude comment, then hastily turned to me saying, "Don't tell my mother I said that." I just grinned myself.

As reported in the 1998 March issue of the Working Waterfront, Conover had sold his boat DESPERADO to settle down to his college studies, but this reporter had a sneaking suspicion that "the waters surrounding Islesboro haven't seen the last of this intrepid teenage entrepreneur." I was right. Fishing on an idyllic summer day with his mom, Vicki, as sternman, they both looked up to see a bald eagle soaring majestically overhead. Turning to his mom, Josh asked, "How do you like my office?" It was clear from the grin on his face that it more than met his criteria for the perfect job.

It must run in the family. Josh isn't the only Conover who possesses entrepreneurial inclinations. The Conover family - Vicki, the young men's mom, and brothers Zach and Josh - have just started a new on-line business, Satisfaction Seafood, which ships fresh Maine lobsters overnight to wherever someone wants them in the continental United States.

Zach, the older brother, got the idea for the business at Josh's college graduation party. It dawned on him that between the three Conovers they could combine their talents to form an Internet business selling lobsters. He immediately set about developing a business plan, outlining job descriptions, and researching financial feasibility. Zach, every bit as enterprising as his younger brother, wasted no time. Planning started in May, and the website was up and running by July.

As webmaster, Zach created the site, manages it and takes care of advertising. Vicki is in charge of the packing and shipping of lobsters and is the direct link to customers. Josh, of course, supplies the lobsters.

The website is full of lobster-related facts. There's a history of lobstering, recipes, and information about the company members. Individual lobsters can be ordered, but the more that are ordered, the better the deal.

Business has been steady, with two or more orders coming in each week. People mostly order lobsters as gifts for their family and friends, usually to mark birthdays.

Island families are taking advantage of the service too. Recently, members of the Frank family traveled from their home on Islesboro to Florida for a family reunion, and ordered 30 lobsters to coincide with their arrival to liven up the celebration.

One of the most unusual requests received by Satisfaction Seafood came from a man who wanted six of the biggest lobsters that could be legally shipped. It seems he was attempting to win a bet with his buddies as to how big lobsters are. Josh took up the challenge, and, with a little help from the Vinalhaven co-op, rounded up six whoppers.

Vicki didn't expect to be talking on the phone with customers as much as she does. It seems that even though people can order directly from the Internet, they still prefer that personal touch. She enjoys talking to people from all over the country, and doesn't even mind that she has to rise at 6 o'clock in the morning to have enough time to ship the lobsters off before her day job as a teacher at Islesboro Central School starts. She claims there's something to be said for watching the sun come up over Islesboro.

Satisfaction Seafood is on the world wide web: www.maine-island-lobster.com.