(farmers wading) (metal rattling underwater) (chuckling) Oh my god.

Nope.

Dead.

Dead.

Beauty.

Beauty.

Beauty.

Oh my God!

♪ I think... until I was an oyster farmer, I had never met one.

So, I think I would have had the same reaction, like, What do you do?

How do you do that?

You’re farming an oyster?

What does that even mean?

I remember being younger and you see anybody do any profession and you just assumed that's the person that does that profession because you're young.

Right?

So, I remember when I was doing a lot of building, I built... a treehouse for my friend's kid.

There was a time where he didn't know that men built things, and he just assumed that women did.

I think there were two farmers in the state.

So then I was pretty much the third farmer in the state.

And Laura and I were the first women in the state, for sure, that were farming.

(seagulls calling) I do know there's very few women who are in the industry.

If I had to guess, there’s maybe five of us who actively fish in New Hampshire, out of, I don't know, a few hundred men.

There's just not enough.

There's not enough.

We can do the same thing.

You know?

We're just as capable.

I don't know why there's not any women on the water.

♪ ♪ ♪ Traditionally, and I think present day, still, has been: men are on the water hauling the traps and the nets and unloading the catch.

And the women are behind the scenes, running the business, selling the fish, cleaning it.

And it's actually really hard to calculate the exact number of females in the seafood industry here in New Hampshire because we don't really see them.

I think probably because I grew up on the water, I don't remember a time where I didn't want to go on the boat.

To this day, I still beg my dad to go take me out... just for a day on the water.

I was 15 when I started.

What 15 year old goes out on the boat at three in the morning and works?

Like, that's unheard of.

My name is Ella Byrne, and I am a co-owner of F/V Sugar Daddy Lobsters.

♪ (boat engine purring) So, this one was me, I think, for my first birthday.

My birthday's a few days before Halloween, so I was a lobster.

This was me trying to help my dad... learn how to bait bag.

So, I put a bait bag on my head.

Trying to be helpful.

But that was me on the boat when I was little.

I was just loving it, obviously.

♪ Definitely my dad is someone who I’ve always looked up to, and he's kind of helped me through a lot of stuff that I couldn't have handled by myself.

♪ Lobstering’s kind of been like that outlet for me to work with him and get a bigger connection.

It's definitely not the easiest thing on some days when we’re not having a very good day.

♪ (boat engine purring) Probably when I was 12, I started actually working for him.

I refused to touch the bait.

I was like, I'm not doing that, I'll band lobsters and that’s the only thing I'm doing.

And then, the year after that, we got a new employee, and I was kind of like, Okay, I'm ready to actually do some stuff.

(boat engine purring) So, I started off with just putting bait bags on the traps and banding lobsters and that stuff because I was too young to know not to step on the ropes.

When I got my own license, though, I started fishing, completely, my own traps just with my dad, which hit me almost like a bus because I was like, Oh my God, this is so much work.

♪ It's probably the hardest thing I've done, like workwise, in my whole life.

Gets hard on my back and I'm tired and I want to go to bed and I get migraines when I’m up too early too many days in a row.

There's a lot of things that I don't like about it just because it's so it hurts.

Like, my body will ache for days, but it's worth it in the end.

I mean, it's something I do really like.

♪ (water lapping) There is no way my dad could do this on his own.

He doesn't even know how to work my Google order form.

So, if there's, like, a week that I'm not around, sales can’t happen.

So, I'm definitely a key part.

And that's something that he tries his best to remember is that I am the reason why we have sales every week.

♪ I think the most we sold one weekend was like 700 pounds of lobster, and that was like the most amazing thing that we've ever done because we built our business from the ground up at the start of Covid.

And it's nice to be able to celebrate the customers that have been coming to us for three years in a row.

I wish I would’ve known how much this would actually impact me, and how it would give me something to look forward to.

It’s almost like determination.

I mean, what 15 year old decides to open a business with their dad?

I think that's crazy that I even did that at 15, so... ♪ Years down the road, I'll be able to, you know, eventually tell my kids and my friends about it that I used to lobster with my dad and I think that's going to be something I’m going to hold special to me for a long time.

♪ It obviously helped shape me and gave me a full set of life skills that I'll have forever.

♪ (water lapping) It's really hard to just up and start your own fishing business.

Traditionally, you’re told to, Go down on the docks and offer your services.

As a woman, that's not usually a very easy and comfortable thing to do.

Women are finding different aspects of the seafood industry that are easier to get into.

You know, maybe not being directly on a boat, but distributing the seafood and making connections between fishermen and markets.

So, if you're willing and you have capital or, you know, just gumption, why not?

♪ (garage door opening) My dad and I, we were out on the boat one day, and we ended up starting to catch some crabs.

He had talked to a few different local lobster buyers to see if they would be interested in starting to buy crabs directly off of local boats.

Unfortunately, everyone turned him away.

We don't want to deal with them.

They’re too hard to keep.

They're not worth much.

You know, pretty much every excuse under the sun.

And that day, we ended up taking some home, cooked them for dinner, and I tried them, and I was really shocked at how good the crabs up here are.

Especially the Jonah crabs; they’re very sweet.

So, you know, we just kind of sat down and we started talking about it and said, Well, what would I need to be able to start buying your crabs?

And so, we decided that I would need a scale, a truck, and myself.

♪ My name is Jillian Robillard, and I am owner of Souhern Maine Crabs.

♪ I think from a young age, I always wanted to be in this industry.

Just growing up on the back of the boat and stuff and being exposed to the ocean so young and...

I think originally I really wanted to own my own boat and go fishing and stuff.

But I ended up, you know, through college and stuff, really discovering the fact that I really like the aspect of business.

I like how it runs and like the fact that it's changing every single day.

♪ (pulley whirring) We ended up finding a good truck and I ended up going down I bought that.

And, just from there, I started buying his crabs, and then he'd introduce me to more fishermen.

The biggest thing for me was finding someone to buy them.

[customer speaking] What does a Jonah crab look like?

Do you have any?

[Jillian responding] I do, absolutely.

Let me grab one for you!

First few weeks, I couldn't even pay someone to try one.

And then eventually, you know, one person would try it and then they tell a friend and it just kind of snowballed that way.

So now a lot of the local retail markets are wanting to buy those and keep those in store for their customers.

So, these are the inshore ones that we offer: $2.50 a pound.

And then these ones are offshore: $4.99 a pound.

[customers speaking] Oh, really?

And how much are those?

[Jillian responding] $2.50 a pound.

[customer speaking] Oh my gosh!

So you gotta boil or steam these just like you would a lobster...

Since I've started buying them and, you know, someone locally has them, it's really expanded the market.

♪ It's a little bit less expensive than a lobster, but you're getting really fantastic seafood.

♪ (garage door opening) You know, my busy time of the year is the fall.

And so, usually what I do is: first thing, get up.

A lot of times, I'm on the road pretty early.

So, I have to come here, pull the crates out of my tanks, put them on pallets, put them on my truck... and then deliver them to whoever my customers are.

From there, I come back.

Usually, I'll spray out my truck, throw a scale on there with some empty crates, and get ready for boat pickups.

I buy lobsters and crabs seven days a week, anywhere from York Harbor down to Rye Harbor.

[customer speaking] Oh, okay.

Just right in here.

[Jillian responding] Yep.

And then the crabs I also buy all up and down the coast, from New Bedford, Massachusetts, up to Tenants Harbor; Spruce Head, Maine.

Quite a ways, quite a ways.

[customer speaking] [inaudible] (chuckling) Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah!

♪ What I really think makes Jillian stand out is: she knows the industry.

She knows how it works.

But she also has a different vision.

And she sees how to connect the dots in a way that not only helps her business, her relationships, but also helps the fishermen.

She has this very quiet but strong personality.

She doesn't say very much, but when she does say things, they’re perceptive.

They're smart.

People are noticing that.

And so, within the industry, they see her as the next-generation leader, whether she likes it or not.

(truck engine whirring) In the next few months here, I think Southern Maine Crabs is going to be able to start processing live crabs to pick the crab meat from.

That's really going to diversify my customer base quite a bit in getting my fresh-picked crab meat into retail markets and restaurants.

♪ So, we've been doing wholesale out of here for about two and a half years now.

And then, back in April, we decided to open up for retail for weekends only, and hopefully going full time this summer.

It's been nice to be able to show people where their fish is coming from.

A lot of times we're able to tell them who the captain is and what boat it came off of.

Yeah, the crab has been a big hit beween the the live crabs and the crab meat.

I think, someday, you'll probably see Southern Maine Crabs’ crab meat in a grocery store.

Sometimes, it's hard to, I guess, keep that in perspective, that, you know, this is kind of what I've been working for for so many years now.

So, you know, when I take a step back and look at it, it's kind of surreal in a certain way.

But then the other side of me is I can do better.

I can get a bigger truck.

I can get more vehicles.

I can really grow this to whatever it could be.

♪ A lot of times, it’s being on the road at 4 or 5 AM, and then, by the time that you actually get done for the day and turn the lights out to go home, next thing you know, it's 11:00 PM or midnight, and... you just kind of take a minute to breathe finally.

You really realize that you haven't just done it for nothing.

You've learned so much, and I think that's pretty much priceless in the end of it.

♪ Aquaculture in the United States is still really up and coming and young, and in New Hampshire, in particular, it's a much more open industry.

It's not saturated, and... there's no tradition behind it.

The Maine Lobster Fishery has over a ten-year waiting list to get a permit to be able to fish for lobster, whereas if you wanted to become an oyster farmer, that process can take less than a year.

They don't necessarily have to have a lifetime on the water or have grown up in a coastal community to be able to start a farm.

Folks can come from a variety of different backgrounds in any setting, but aquaculture, I think, is a little bit more friendly for folks who are newer to the maritime industry.

♪ (birds and insects calling) ♪ (water lapping) I go out with the low tide.

So my day the night before starts with, When does the tide come up?

I have it mapped out pretty much for the whole summer.

I can get out there about an hour hour and a half before low tide, and I just work for about 3 or 4 hours.

And then the actual farming bit of the day is over, for the most part.

(birds tweeting) I find it extremely calming.

And there's the sound of it, the splashing of it, the movement of it.

(water lapping) I mean, I don't go out in raging thunderstorms.

(laughing) I don't love it that much!

But it's just there's a certain kind of peace and tranquility to it, and things just sort of swim around and move.

There's just nothing like it.

I just love being in water now.

♪ I'm Laura Brown.

I’m the owner of Fox Point Oysters in Little Bay, New Hampshire.

My name is Krystin Ward, and I'm the owner of Choice Oysters in Little Bay.

Ah.

I feel so good in the water.

I know.

Oh!

What did I get?

Oh!

Big horsey.

Oh, really?

It is really cool; the water.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Going to school, you're not kind of sure what you're going to be doing coming out of school.

I was looking around for a job before I graduated.

I went to school later in life, too, you know?

So, I was looking for something around here.

I ended up finding a job in an invertebrate benthic ecology lab.

So, oysters were kind of just naturally part of that study area; that laboratory.

So, I just found myself with oysters.

There's a lot of different work that we can do with shell recycling, restoring the reefs.

And these oysters are just like magic.

They are filter feeders.

They're cleaning the water.

No feed, no anything like that.

You know, they're benefiting the Bay so much.

They're, environmentally, such a good resource to have in the water.

♪ (boat engine spouting) It's difficult because you don't really know what you're doing at first.

We figured it out slowly and it takes about three years for an oyster to come to market size.

So, you kind of have three years to work with it and kind of figure it out a little bit.

Yeah, you can see the cup on this is really nice, and that's what the bottom [culture] does.

That's what you really want in the restaurants.

And then this starts fanning out and when they’re on the bottom.

Look at that.

That cup is beautiful.

I was lucky because she did all that hard work in the beginning.

And then I could just sort of tag on to all of that.

I spent the first, I guess, part of my life in the arts.

I was a glassblower.

I was a studio artist myself.

Krystin called once and said she was starting an oyster farm.

Strangest thing I ever heard, and I thought, That sounds pretty cool.

And she's like, You could do this too, if you want.

And I knew nothing.

So, I asked a million questions, and she helped me get everything started.

And I eventually just moved here and started my own farm.

And I actually started my farm on her farm.

So, I got my own oysters and used her space.

And, we just kind of learned together for the first couple of years.

And then I found a different space and moved over, and now we have separate farms.

(birds calling) Oh God.

The waste in the art world versus the eco-friendly nature of these little filter feeders in the water that don't need food.

They really don't need us for the most part.

They just sort of do it themselves.

They're such amazing little creatures.

So, it's definitely changed my life and it's created a whole new way of thinking and living for me.

So, I put a ton of inch-and-a-half oysters out here last When was it?

Last spring?

Is that right?

Yeah.

Last spring.

But that's what they are now.

So, they started out like that size, and now they're already huge.

These are totally almost ready.

If you hold that up to the sun, you can see all the new growth right along that shell.

[producer speaking] That’s cool!

[Laura responding] Yeah.

So, this is just from this spring.

♪ I think starting our businesses separate was, for both of us, a no-brainer.

We both wanted to sort of do it our own way and see where it went.

And we work together a ton and with each other, but we have separate businesses and...

I think it's really important for me.

I enjoy being my own boss.

I make my own schedule and I love it.

♪ (splash) And you can be creative and do your own things out there.

So, something she's doing on her farm, I'm not doing on my farm.

You know?

And I'll go a different avenue and a different way.

You know, Are you going to bottom feed this year?

Are you going to should I put them in this [inaudible]?

Should I get oysters that are bigger this year?

Should I get, you know there’s just a million different little things to figure out here and there.

And it's paid off.

It's trial and error a lot out there.

So, it kind of allows you the freedom to kind of just do what you want, and then you only have yourself to blame if it doesn't work.

So, I almost do 100% retail at this point, just direct-to-consumer.

It got me closer to my customers and asking more questions.

It was hard to do the back-end stuff like website stuff.

And it's more time for me to be present and in front of people's faces; time that I could be working on the farm.

So, there are challenges there, for sure.

I love the direction I'm in now, and I like meeting people and talking to them and selling directly to them, and they learn what fresh food looks like.

And I don't I'm not sure everyone in the world gets food directly from a farmer.

♪ Mine looks a little different.

I think that's the big thing about having your own business too.

You can make your farm how it needs to be run.

I can't get out there every day and still work in the low tide, you know?

But I do it not as often.

I now use up a lot of the oysters on my farm for restoration purposes, so it's not always cleaning bags, rotating your crop.

So, I spend less time out there, kind of out of necessity, you know, just to live and work and not drive myself crazy.

Starting the farm was big for me.

Starting my own business that was a huge difference in my life.

You know, and this is something that maybe I could do... for a long time, and do it how I want to do it, and just be out there on the water.

Like, that was kind of a defining moment because, you know, you're kind of used to a nine-to-five job and this kind of can change a lot of things.

♪ The ocean is a space that you can learn a lot from.

Having a job on the water is very challenging, and it demands a lot of different parts of you and your intellectual capabilities.

It's a lifestyle choice that they have all made because they love being able to work on the water every day.

I think the other draw for the women is that they can own their own business.

You know, they can have full control in providing livelihoods for other people who also want to do the same.

(open ocean susurrating) I think, on land, I don't have a lot of confidence.

I really don’t.

On the water, I feel good.

I feel that's the one place I feel like I've really... accomplished.

I feel like I know what I’m doing out there, you know?

Land is really tough.

I couldn't be on land.

I couldn't be a bus driver or a doctor.

I couldn't do any of that stuff.

Those are the hard jobs.

This is easy.

I don't even think I'd seen a tuna until, probably, 2014.

Maybe.

Maybe even 2015, the year I started.

But when I saw one, that was it.

It was like, I have to do that.

It was a goal.

I have to get out and I have to catch that.

I was so amazed by the size and how cool it looked.

And I just said, I gotta go for it.

And I never thought that I would have my own boat.

I never thought that I would be where I am today.

♪ (adhesive peeling) My name’s Lea.

I'm first mate of the F/V No Limits .

I am Michelle, and I am captain on... F/V No Limits .

♪ I thought for years, What would I name my boat?

It was last-minute.

The day before, No Limits came in my head and I'm like, That's it.

Never heard of a boat with that name.

And... it was perfect.

And I fell in love right away.

The second I saw this boat, I knew this was it.

I started fishing back when I was a teenager, recreational with my father.

Came summertime, I would go jump on the head boat.

My brother and I, we'd go to work for the day.

I went back in, I believe, 2014.

I just remembered how much I loved it.

I couldn't be without it.

Somebody asked me to go tuna fishing, it jumped on their boat, and I was hooked after that.

♪ Just the rush.

I mean, just when rod bends, it’s there's nothing like it when you're fighting a, you know, several-hundred-pound fish.

♪ (rod reels aggressively) Aw yeah!

Trying to!

(lowered anchor rumbling) (rod reeling aggressively) Oh yeah!

When Michelle and I first met, I was working at a gym, and I got stuck working on a Sunday.

Her husband was getting ready to leave, and I told him I says, I gotta get out of here.

Wicked Tuna is going to be on and I don’t want to miss it.

And he says, Really?

You watch that show?

I got to introduce you to my wife.

And I said, Why?

She likes it too?

And he said, She's got a tuna boat.

She's looking for a girl crew.

And I said, You have to be kidding me.

Just having Lea here helping me is huge.

And, you know, people offer to help, but I really don’t like taking help from other people.

And I love doing this kind of work, so, I love helping.

I'm pretty good at cleaning and she's really good at making a mess.

She runs around in circles and gets all the gear ready.

I just follow behind her and pick everything up and make sure she's eating.

And, you know, sometimes I got to tell her, like, Take a nap.

You're the captain.

Go lay down!

You never know when that rod's going to bend.

You're doing your thing, you're ready to reel in, you're ready it the day, and then BOOM.

(ocean whooshing) It's just Snap.

Gone.

You know, you either have it or you don't.

And just one bad move and that's it.

Fish is gone.

(ocean whooshing) Yeah!

Whoo!

You get out there and, Where's the right spot?

It's a gamble, you know?

Where are we going to drop the anchor?

And then, What are we going to use for a bait?

There's so many things, and it's just this gamble.

And then you go, Hmm.

Should we move?

We’ve been here for a while.

It's always second guessing.

You know, Should we reel?

So, we’re reeling, Let’s reel it in real slow... And then you start to bring them in and then you hook up and go, Jesus, we were just about to to leave and now we’re hooked up.

And somebody ought to bring up the solo catch, because that's really what made her really well-known.

Got one fish in July solo and they did like was it WOKQ?

WOKQ.

Did an article on her.

So, that kind of went viral.

And then that second solo catch was absolutely amazing.

She got it on the GoPro footage.

Some guy took it off my Facebook, posted it on TikTok, and within two days, 25 million views.

And if you watch the video, it's just absolutely incredible.

I mean, you can see her, she's doing this solo.

You can see her driving the boat and then hopping on the rail, (simulating Lea) you know?

And it's just crazy.

(fellow fishers megaphoning) She's out here on the deck.

This monster fish is swinging, and there's one wave that hits the boat and it rocks.

And the fish just comes down.

Hah.

(thud) Yeah!

And I'm proud that I got it on GoPro.

That'll be watched for years and years and years after I'm gone.

So, I like the fact that... She, like, made history.

I made yes!

It’s pretty cool.

(chuckles) (ocean rolling calmly) (boat engine purring) A lot of people don't necessarily think about how this job is going to keep going in the future.

It just doesn’t occur to them, like, Oh, what's the next generation?

You don't necessarily see kids going into the trades and fishing industries.

Like, if I was a basic high schooler, I wouldn't be doing this.

I would want to sleep in.

That’s what most of my friends do.

If I could sleep in every day, I would!

Just because it's not something that most people want to do.

But once you find your once you get into the groove and it's clicking with you, it's actually quite enjoyable.

I definitely think the biggest challenge for me so far has just been my age; kind of just always constantly being pushed to the end of the line because I'm so young.

I went to the... Boston Seafood Show, and, given the fact that I was probably one of the youngest people there, not one person would actually take the time out of the day to speak with me.

A lot of the corporate companies don't think that I have the ability or the money for them to deal with me, which is unfortunate, but we just find other ways to do it.

♪ (bay door closing) Being 19, you don't really start off with a lot of money.

So, you know, everything that I used to start my business was pretty much all the money that I had just saved up over the last few years.

Part of the reason why I couldn't go out and get, you know, any loans or even a credit card to begin with was the fact that I was so young.

My first vehicle, I couldn't get a loan for it.

I had to pay cash for it out of my own pocket.

♪ (gravel crunching) I think that there's a gap in ages as far as people my age trying to get into the industry goes.

They want job security, which is just hard to find in this industry.

You know, certain months, you're not going to make any money, and then other months, you could bank 5 to 10 grand a week.

Prices are changing daily.

Sometimes, you can wake up in the morning and the price will be the same, and then an hour later, the price will drop.

So, everything that you had in inventory you're now selling for a loss.

So, you're trying to lose the least amount of money on it.

You're going to have to get ready to take some losses, and it's going to hurt sometimes.

But, it makes the... makes the times that you come out on top just a little bit better.

♪ You know you've had a few people that are like, you know, Is this your farm?

assuming that it's My husband’s.

Yeah, something like that.

Doing the sales on the farm, many think that I’m just the sales rep for this bigger company.

And I'm like, No, no.

I am the company.

They’re like, Yeah, well who harvested these and when?

You know?

Because some people like to just figure it all out.

And I said, Well, I just like three hours ago.

They’re like, What do you mean you did?

Where?

You have a farm?

Wait, you do this?

And, I don't think they think that they'll ever meet a farmer.

And then sometimes it is because I'm a female, especially if my husband happens to be there hanging out.

They'll speak to him and ask him the questions and he'll be like, I don't know any of these answers.

And that happens that's happened more times than I care to think about.

But it's fine.

It is what it is.

It's not going to ruin me; make or break me.

Just do what I want to do.

(ice bags crinkling) So, it's kind of just like frustrating an annoying.

And I've apparently, I might be the only one that's had people come to my farm and just tell me that I'm doing everything wrong.

And it's fascinating because they have nothing to do with oyster farming.

They're just kind of like zooming by on whatever craft they're on and are like, You need to do this, and you need to do this.

So then I'm like, Why are you why?

And everyone’s like, No one's ever done that to me.

And it's happened to me like 2 or 3 times.

So, I don't know if that's because I'm a woman or if I happen to be out that random day.

So, there's really no way to tell.

Being alone out there that's one thing that has always gotten to me about being a woman is there are certain places you can't go alone.

It can be a little tricky.

Yeah.

At night and being alone.

There can be some sketchy folks.

Yeah.

Early in the morning, late at night in the parking lot.

And I don't go out because I don't feel safe.

That's probably the biggest one.

And it's rare that it happens, but it does.

Like, I was a glassblower for years and that was traditionally sort of a male-dominated thing.

Fine, I didn't care.

I wanted to do it, I did it.

There's a lot of people who didn't let me be on their team because I was a woman.

They assumed I was weaker.

Fine.

I would find somewhere else to be.

So, I've always blown that off.

And, in this industry, I just get that question asked so much that it's become the sort of main line of (chuckling) publicity that I end up doing.

Which can kind of help, I think.

Okay, well...

There it is, yeah.

It helps people take notice sometimes.

Yep.

I don’t know if in a positive way, but it kind of puts you out in the forefront a little more sometimes; being a woman.

Being a woman in the industry there are a lot of advantages; there's a lot of... opportunity.

Sponsors, stuff like that, they'll reach out more because there's not as many women in the industry.

(wake crashing softly) There's one other girl out of Gloucester who does have a boat and tuna fishes.

She's great at it.

Other than that, there's no other girl boat.

And I think why we get so much attention is because, you know, we are girls.

You'll go and see other boats out there, they got four grown men on there and they're all working hard and they're all exhausted, and I think people respect the fact that we're just two women out there alone and catching these big fish and getting them in the boat and getting them back to the dock with good quality.

We ended a killer season last year.

From September 14th to December 14th, we brought in seven fish.

And you’re talking in December; you’re talking down in Stellwagen.

It's cold.

It’s rough.

We were down there with the best of them.

All our friends from up north were down there.

We didn't want to be the girl boat going back to the dock.

There's a lot of pride with what we do as girls being out here.

We want to prove ourselves.

Yeah.

(boat engine humming) Lea!

You’re watching it, right?

Yeah.

I got you, girl.

All right.

Ready?

Yep.

(boat engine humming) Ready?

Hold up.

Don’t throw that yet.

Why not?

Nah nah nah.

(boat engine quieting) And it's so nice just bringing a fish back to the dock to sell when you're in this fleet of guys, you know?

And a couple of them boats come back without a fish.

And when we have one, it's just there's nothing compared to that feeling.

Yeah.

Best feeling.

We get respect on the water and I like it.

You have to earn it.

You got to know what you're doing.

You have to prove yourself.

And we've done that.

(boat gears shifting) (Lea grunts) [inaudible] Neutral.

No!

You're fine, you're fine.

Hold up.

Reel it in some more.

Yeah!

Haha!

Haha!

Yeah haha!

[inaudible] Nothing yet!

Nah.

It’s good, girl.

(tuna thuds against boat) Get Ohhh!

Haha!

Why is it more important to have more women out there?

There's just not enough.

There's not enough.

We can do the same thing.

You know?

We're just as capable.

There's nothing I'd rather be doing.

I don't want to be on land.

You know?

The only thing that keeps me on land are my kids.

And, other than that, I wouldn't even come in.

Land sucks.

Land does suck.

(chuckles) Yeah.

So...

It's tough.

That's my only worry.

It’s, you know, making sure the kids are doing all right.

And, they want me to fish because they think it’s they didn't think it was cool at first.

They're ike, Yeah, she fishes.

Now, they think it's the best thing.

♪ They've seen me come a long way and they're proud.

♪ Well, I was married.

Now, I'm not.

Basically, my husband made the money.

My husband supported me.

I saw tuna fishing as a way out.

I knew I loved it, and I just...

I knew I could do it, and I was determined, and I did it.

And I got out of a really crappy situation, and, there was no failing.

I couldn't.

And so, yeah, I got out of the marriage.

And now?

Just living life.

Me and my girls and this boat... (chuckles) and Lea!

♪ (open ocean susurrates) It's amazing what she does just in everyday life to kind of get me out of my slump and make me feel a little more... confident.

She makes me want to do more.

She makes me want to achieve bigger goals.

And, you know, I don't think she realizes she does that for me.

♪ People give her so much credit and respect for what she does.

And she can do this without me.

You know?

I couldn't do it without her.

I do want to get my captain’s license.

Someday.

Someday.

But not to captain my own boat, just to be more of an asset to her and just She'll get our own boat someday, and she will be catching these by herself.

Yeah, she will.

I love fishing with her.

We’ll just get a bigger boat maybe.

(both laughing) (boat engine rumbling) We gotta catch... a couple more.

Oh, we're going to keep going until we can’t.

Just one more!

Oh, just one more!

♪ I feel like there are maybe a couple more females getting into the industry.

It's unfortunate that there's not more.

But again, you kind of have to be rough and tough around the edges because you're dealing with a lot of men.

So, you gotta be able to hold your ground and put your foot down and do what you say you're going to do.

And... prove them wrong if they say otherwise, really.

(truck engine whirring) One of the funniest encounters I had was when I was going up to Harpswell to pick up a new boat.

And I'd only dealt with him texting back and forth on the phone and whatnot.

So, I showed up.

I pulled into the parking lot and I get out of my truck, and he looks at me and he's like, Huh.

I thought you were going to be a 6’5 , 250 lb.

guy but I guess not.

If I think about it, really, it just makes me want to push harder and prove myself.

But, honestly, I just get so busy during the day that you just really don't think about it much.

You're just more focused on doing your job and doing it the right way, and making sure at the end of the day that people are happy with the services that you're providing.

When I go and buy gear, gloves, jackets, clothing for the industry, they're not made for women.

So, everything's too big or cuffs that are supposed to keep water from rolling down your sleeves are huge.

Nothing fits.

And so, I say, Hey, do you have any women's jackets in?

And they're like, Women's jackets!

What?

We don't have those.

Why would we have those?

Well, I’m a woman and these don't fit.

And they go, Oh, interesting.

You know, get these things Oh, we only have them in extra large.

I’m like, When you call the company, can you ask for women's?

And they go, Oh, okay!

And I think the more people that say that, that's the only thing that helps change it.

(water splashing) I've had a few women come up to me and thank me for what I'm doing.

And I've actually had a few men that have said, You know, my daughter loves what you're doing.

People have definitely noticed what I do and have been there for the support.

I see a lot of kids who want to do what I did with with their parents who lobster.

I see children who are like 4 or 5 and beg to go on the boat and have their own bibs and their own boots.

So, I like to think that I'm someone they can look up to for when they want to be fishing and just helps to, you know, get the idea out to people who might want to try it.

My biggest piece of advice is to get a mentor.

Even I would offer to have them come in the boat with me and I'll teach them what I know and my dad can teach them what he knows.

You know, a big thing is you feel like, It's a male-dominated industry.

I don't want to go into it.

I personally don't feel that way.

I think that I can do whatever I want and no one can stop me.

And I totally suggest it.

If you like fishing, just get right into it.

And don't ever go tuna fishing because you'll be hooked.

(chuckling) Hopefully, I think what's happening is kids are coming into college and a lot of women are interested in science.

I think those numbers are going up.

So, this can be the field that they can go into that relates to that.

♪ (water lapping) All of them had mentioned that they're constantly questioned and constantly trying to prove themselves in the industry.

You know, they can do the same things that everybody else can do.

They are fighting the traditional gender norms of the maritime industry by being there; being out on the water every day.

And eventually, people are just going to be used to having women out there, and they're not going to question them.

Which, hopefully, that will be coming sooner (chuckling) rather than later.

♪ I think it's very important that, you know, younger females and older females alike see a female in any male- dominated industry.

Sometimes, it's a little bit easier getting into something if you see someone else doing it.

And so, you just need that one person to really just be the pioneer for it, and then others will follow.

I think I'm most proud of the fact that she gave me the opportunity and I was like, Yes, this is it.

This sounds great.

I'm just going to try it.

And you did it all on your own, yeah?

Yeah, not on my own.

Not on my own at all.

But was able to do that.

And I think that’s really important for me.

I'm proud of that.

♪ (water lapping) ♪ Women, in general, the more life experience you have in whatever other male-dominated situation you are in I wish it was different but you start getting that confidence.

You just grow into it.

Right?

I would love to see girls beginning to get that confidence a lot earlier in life.

We've all grown up with Girls can do anything!

You know, I'm just as good as a guy!

But something happens early on where I don't know how but girls lose that confidence, and then it takes them a while to get it back.

But I think we have a real opportunity here to start changing that.

♪ (ocean susurrating) This is just this is me.

This is what I like to do.

I want to fish until physically, I can't fish anymore.

That's where I see myself fishing and doing nothing but fishing.

And I'm going to do it until I can’t.

(ocean susurrating) ♪ ♪