Crew

The men and women of The Little Cranberry Isle Fishermen’s Coop work long and hard in a time-honored tradition. Nine of the current 26 Coop members are veteran founding members from 1978. With members ranging in age from 85 to 18 years old, The Little Cranberry Coop is among the most respected in Maine.

Most boats in the Coop’s fleet are equipped with the latest in electronic navigation and communications equipment. A lobster boat is a major investment for a lobster fisherman. Each boat in the Little Cranberry fleet is rigged with a hydraulic hauler to pull traps to the water’s surface. Each trap is marked by a buoy on the water’s surface. A line then runs down to the trap which sits on the ocean bottom, from 30 to 200 feet below the surface, held there by its own weight. Once the line is gaffed, it winds around the hydraulic hauler and the trap is pulled to the surface, pulled alongside and swung aboard the boat by trusted crew. Each lobster is then carefully inspected and any red beauty too small, too large or egg bearing is safely returned to their ocean home. Certified, sustainable and traceable: That is the only way to catch at The Little Cranberry Isle Fishermen’s Coop.