From The Archives: MLA Member Profile: Bob Williams, Stonington

Written by Nancy Griffin

First published in the July 2014 issue of Landings

Bob Williams has lived in Stonington for all but four days of his 72 years. The four days were those he spent at the Castine hospital, being born.

One grandfather was a stonecutter, who moved from Clark Island in St. George to Stonington to work the quarries there. Bob’s father was a stonecutter as well. But on his mother’s side, the Fifields, were all Stonington fishermen.

Bob Williams was inducted into the Stonington Fishermen’s Hall of Fame in 2013. Photo courtesy of Diane Williams.

“When I got out of high school, I started fishing as a sternman with other people,” said Williams, beginning with his first wife’s family, the Eatons.

In 1959, he went on his own with a $1,000, 27-ft. boat and 125 traps. In 1964, he moved up to a new, 34-ft. Jonesport boat built on Beals Island. He called it the J&S for his six children, whose names all started with either J or S: John, James, Shelly, Sheila, Serena and Sherry.

Nine years later, he bought a 36-ft. Arnold Day boat built on Deer Isle. He named it J&S as well, and went lobstering, then shrimping and scalloping in the winter. In the late 1970s, he had a 46-ft. boat built in Southwest Harbor by Jarvis Newman. “I helped build it,” Williams recalled. “I was going to give up lobstering and go scalloping, shrimping and gillnetting. I had the boat for a year, then I turned the boat over to my son, John.”

Williams returned to lobstering full-time. John, who is now a Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) board member, went gillnetting until the 1990s, then sold that boat and returned to lobstering as well.

The elder Williams is happy about his choice to return to lobstering. He had a new 38-ft. wooden boat built in South Bristol by Peter Kass (John’s Bay Boat). This one’s called Jamie K for his youngest grandson. Recently, Williams cut back a bit on his fishing season. Now he only lobsters for eight months a year.

“This spring the lobsters are slow because of the cold weather, so I didn’t start until May,” he said. His 26-year-old grandson for whom the boat is named, Jamie Klemenz, goes fishing with him. “I was married at 17 and had six kids by the time I was 27,” explained Williams. “I enjoy spending winters not being on the water.” He met his second wife, Diane, at the Fishermen’s Forum. “That’s where we spend our anniversary, at the Forum,” he said.

“In the 1990s, when I built the Jamie K, the catch started increasing,” said Williams. “Since 1990, we’ve had some great years. It’s been 24 years of good catches. We went from 20 million pounds to 126 million.” That’s the high point Williams has seen in his long career in the industry. The low points include the ever-increasing cost of everything needed to go lobstering, and the low prices paid for lobster in recent years.

Williams is forthright about his feelings for the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “I think I’ve been in the MLA since the start,” Williams explained. “I was a director. Now my son (John) is a director. Someone has to represent you in Augusta and D.C. Regulations change fast and you have to keep up or you could be regulated out of something.”

He believes the health of the stocks can be attributed to the conservation measures implemented by Maine fishermen, such as the V-notch, and the increases in the minimum measurement. “We had a hatchery in Stonington for years. Now we don’t need one. There are a lot of small lobsters around,” said Williams. “It guarantees our future.”

“I have a lot of hours in fishing and I’ve done well. All my sons and grandsons have been involved in it in one way or the other. My older grandson is fishing offshore. They like fishing. They might work on shore for a while, but they go back,” Williams said. “Lobstering has been good to me.”