Tag Archives: family business
How California bureaucrats are using a typo to destroy a fisherman’s dream
Bureaucrats sometimes make mistakes. But when they refuse to acknowledge a mistake and double down on it to deprive someone of their livelihood and family business, a lawsuit can be the only way to hold them accountable. That’s what happened to Max Williams, and he’s fighting back. Max has dreamed of captaining his own fishing vessel since he was young. Fishing has been the Williams family’s way of life for decades. They have owned and operated vessels practicing sustainable fishing off the coast of California to feed their community and provide for their family. Like his grandfather and parents before him, Max wants to continue the family tradition and captain his own boat. California law requires Max to obtain a “gillnet” permit from the government before he can legally fish as a vessel operator. > click to read < 17:46
Maine Lobstering: A Family Business Facing Challenges
“Today, we really face multiple challenges including competition for the bottom fishing ground with plans to erect windmill generators, to huge increases in the price of bait due to limiting the Herring catches. Just getting new buoys made is tough,” said Capt. Steve Train, a lobsterman of Long Island, Maine. “There is a year-long wait for new traps because there aren’t a lot of people building them. And there is the closing of the federal offshore fishing grounds with the implementation of new regulations as part of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. All these challenges are driving our costs up.” West Bath, Maine Capt. Peter Doran agrees the industry has always faced challenges. photos, video >click to read< 19:04
Family business, way of life ‘under attack’ for Cundy’s Harbor wharf
Gary and Alison Hawkes finalized their purchase of Hawkes’ Lobster from Gary’s parents on May 1. His mother’s aunt and uncle bought the business in the 1950s, and his grandparents bought it from them. Then his parents, Sue and Gary, took over and his father built the wharf in 1990. Early Wednesday afternoon, Alison and “young” Gary stood on the eerily quiet dock as two of their teenagers walked by carrying fishing rods over their shoulders. They sped off in a dinghy to see what they could catch. Both also hold student lobstering licenses, Gary said. But on Wednesday, the boats remained tied up under the late spring sun—all but Gary’s father’s boat. His dad headed out that morning to haul traps, knowing he might not earn back the cost of his gas and bait. Video, >click to read< 09:59
Fisherman passing on enterprise to his son, but with an uncertain future
For the Dobbins, fishing is the family business, and Fintan Dobbin and his son Robert have been a team for years. While Fintan is preparing to retire from the industry and sell off his over 40-fleet to Robert, he has doubt if there is much of a business he’s leaving behind for his son. “I’m about to sign it over to him now, but I don’t know what he’ll do with it,” Fintan said. This uncertainty was not always the story. There was a time when the Dobbin’s enterprise was a successful operation, largely due to the fishing of halibut in the 4R region. “We made our living at the halibut, we put our lifetime into it,” Fintan said. “Until they took it all away from us.” click here to read the story 22:57
