Young lobsterman keeps Portland fishing traditions alive

Marshall Spear, 25, of Portland is a third-generation Maine lobsterman. His father Willis Spear, who circulated a petition last summer to protect berthing space for lobster boats in Portland Harbor, is a lobsterman based in Yarmouth. Marshall’s paternal grandfather pursued lobstering for personal pleasure and his maternal grandfather was a ground fisherman, Spear said.

Marshall has three brothers, Obie, Evans, who passed away several years ago, and Jed. According to Marshall, all four Spear brothers got their lobster licenses the same day. “I’ve had my license since before there were even tags,” he said. “The licenses used to cost $20.”

Many other members of the family make their living lobstering including several cousins, an uncle, and Marshall’s brother Obie. Even his younger brother Jed wants to become a lobsterman, he said. By contrast, only one local friend has chosen lobstering as his career, Marshall said. Very few young people fishing for lobsters from Portland now. “There are less than eight guys under the age of 30 lobstering in town now,” Marshall noted.

Asked what made him choose lobstering as a profession, Marshall replied, “It was the only thing I knew to make money, and I liked [the work].” Having a father as a lobsterman also was an advantage. “I learned a lot from him. He was always very strict about procedures,” Marshall said.

Marshall has been lobstering for eight years full-time, although started on his own at age seven in a rowboat with no outboard. His father made he and his brothers row for two years before they were allowed to get an outboard motor, he recalled.

After graduating from high school, Marshall spent one year at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, lobstering to earn money during the following summer. Unsure about college, he took the fall semester off to continue fishing. His father was upset with his decision, Spear said. So he promised his father that after the lobster season ended he would go back to college in the spring. True to his word, he completed one additional semester. But, “I had caught the fishing bug,” he said. “I love being on the water, catching lobsters, the thrill of [being on the water], being my own man.”

Photos by Emily Elliott

Marshall bought his first boat in Yarmouth in 2003. “It was a 25-foot T-Jason,” he recalled. He had no financial help in the purchase. He didn’t borrow any money because he couldn’t get a co-signer for a loan. So he owner-financed the boat and paid it off by the end of that summer. Then the boat dropped a valve and he was forced to take out a personal loan for $10,000. “The new engine cost $15,800,” said Marshall. “A friend and I took the old engine out and put the new one in. Eventually we replaced almost everything, the propeller, shaft, rudder, and all the electronics.” Marshall fished that boat for two years, then sold it to a New Gloucester lobsterman in 2005.

His next boat he found by chance in Long Island, New York. “I stopped in a yard and spoke to a guy there. He said they had no lobster boats, and nothing under $700,000,” Marshall said. But the man directed him to another nearby boat yard. Marshall saw a boat in that yard that looked interesting and learned that the boat brokers were showing it that day. Unfortunately the boat was 11 years old and had sat out of water for ten of those years.

After several hours of waiting, Marshall took the boat out for a test drive. Happy with its performance, he promptly placed the highest bid for the vessel and then had to figure out how to get it home. A few days later, Marshall, his father and brother picked the boat up. The vessel had a crack in the exhaust, no navigation equipment, and the men couldn’t get into the fuel tanks. “Basically I built a new boat out in the boatyard,” he said. “I cut the stern out within a week. The boat was out of water for two and a half months total.” This boat is named Endeavor; the previous one was named Endurance. “My brother who passed away was Evans,” Marshall explained. “I’m trying to keep with the E names.”

Marshall ties his boat up in Portland Harbor, near the Comedy Connection nightclub. The dock is enclosed by a chain link fence and locked with a pad lock. He jokes that dock security was essential when lobstering “in the hood.”

Marshall said that when he started lobstering full-time, he didn’t have any reservations about getting into the business. Then the economy changed. “It was good until 2007,” he said. “In 2006 prices for lobsters at the dock were $4.00 per pound, and $60 per barrel for bait. Now at the dock we get $3.15 per pound, and we’re paying $115 per barrel for bait.” Yet the quality of life for lobstermen hasn’t gone down, even as the costs have gone up, he said. “It’s really what you make of it,” said Marshall. “I think people get into trouble when they borrow too much.”

At the Maine Lobster Boat Race Association races in Portland last June, Marshall took second place in Class M, for diesel vessels 40 feet and over. His top speed was 23.6 mph. This was the second time he had entered in the races, first competing in Harpswell a few years ago. “I entered the race because I wanted to make sure that the races in Portland would continue,” Marshall said. “The races offer the fisherman a chance to show off their rigs. They get a rush and the audience gets a thrill. I had good time this year. My wife brought our baby. It’s fun for the whole family.”

First published in the MLA newsletter, February, 2011