SICA Success Stories: Luke’s Lobster

Luke’s Lobster, a 2023 SICA winner, has done a stellar job at integrating sustainability into its world-wide, award-winning lobster roll business. From boat to bun, they’ve long been leaders in responsible sourcing, environmental stewardship, and community investments. One of the few restaurant chains to pursue the gold-standard B Corp certification, Luke's has prioritized sustainability since day one. From measuring their carbon footprint, installing solar panels to power their wharf in Maine, or engaging with lobstermen to promote sustainable harvesting practices, they are a leading voice in the seafood and food service industries.

We recently connected with Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Ben Conniff, to better understand the business behind Luke’s Lobster and how sustainability and giving back aren’t just buzzwords to them, but rather an integral part of their business.

Breaking Down Barriers in the Lobster Industry

The Maine lobster industry, a billion-dollar cornerstone of the rural Maine economy, offers self-employment and vital economic opportunity. But it has a significant access problem. To get a lobster license, you either need to complete an apprentice program and wait on a list that can take up to 20 years or complete a student lobster license program that you have to start before your 18th birthday then proceed to log 1,000 hours of fishing by age 20, signed off by a current licensed lobstermen.

"The honest truth is, only relatives of current lobstermen ever really know this program exists or are able to take advantage of it, because they're the only ones that can get out on a boat with a lobsterman and learn this stuff," explains Ben.

This creates a perpetual cycle: an industry that's already very insular and homogenous stays that way because the pathways to entry are only accessible to those already connected to it. And the industry is shrinking, as fewer of those young people who are connected are choosing to follow their parents into fishing.

Photo by Coco McKracken, courtesy of Luke's Lobster.

Lift All Boats: Creating Access and Opportunity

Luke's Lobster embodies the idea that "a rising tide lifts all boats", prioritizing all stakeholders - including the environment - not just the bottom line of their lobster roll business. In 2022, Luke’s Lobster launched the Lift All Boats initiative to tackle the industry's access problem head-on by going into local public schools and offering students everything they needed to participate in the student lobster license program.

The comprehensive support includes:

·      Taking students out fishing once a week, every week, all summer long.

·      Providing all necessary gear: traps, buoys, rope, and equipment.

·      Covering all costs including fuel and bait.

·      Paying students a daily stipend plus purchasing their lobster catch.

·      Procuring student licenses, providing the licensed sponsor, and helping with paperwork and logging required hours.

"We figured the way to change [the lack of access to lobstering] was to offer the kind of mentorship and resources that typically are offered within families to students who may not otherwise know about the program or have access to it."

- Ben Conniff, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer

The program isn’t just about lobster fishing - it’s about building life-long skills and environmental consciousness. Students learn about sustainable fishing practices (min/max sizes, egg-bearing females, escape vents, etc.), the environmental impact of seafood compared to land-based proteins (lobster produces just 4% of CO2 emissions when compared to beef), climate-friendly fishing gear such as solar panels, electric boats, and many more. 

SICA Grant Impact: From 4 to 18 Students

The SICA grant in 2023 enabled Luke's Lobster to purchase their first boat dedicated to the Lift All Boats program - the Sea Smoke. This dedicated vessel was crucial for scaling the program's impact.

In their first year, they piloted the program with 4 students. This year, they're starting with 30 students and a wait list of 33 more, the increase primarily driven by word-of-mouth from enthusiastic students! "If you're a student who's never seen a picture of a lobsterman that looked like you, now you can look at a picture of students your age, who look like you out on a boat making money and having fun. I think that makes it feel much more realistic," Ben explains.

The grant also allowed Luke’s to provide guaranteed daily stipends, ensuring students earn money even on days with poor catches. This is crucial to attract and retain student participants who would otherwise need to spend that time punching the clock at a job that’s not preparing them for a future where they can thrive.

Looking Ahead

Lift All Boats has now evolved beyond just a project for Luke’s Lobster: it is its own 501(c)3 entity that’s raising more funds to expand and evolve their offering. Their most pressing need is a second boat, more gear, and additional staff so they can meet the demand from students, which is already more than double their current capacity. Then, the Lift All Boats team is working on extensions into other regions in Maine, and even on sharing scalable best practices for inclusive pre-apprenticeship programs in other marine industries like aquaculture.