Islesboro Family Stays Close to the Sea

By Melissa Waterman

“My dad would say ‘I’m going lobstering’ and I would say ‘I want to go!’ But he wouldn’t let me, I was too young,” Gaby Zlotkowski remembers. “Then when I was older, I’d go out for an hour or two. It was the coolest thing ever.”

Kim Grindle and her children, Gaby and Blake Zlotkowski, wrestle kelp lines.

J. Sullivan photo.

Gaby, 18, is an Islesboro native, and part of an entrepreneurial family. Over the years she watched her father, Jay, and grandfather Johnny (and many other family members) lobster around the island and grew to appreciate the hard work and the unique lure of fishing.

When her older brother Blake followed his father into lobstering and got his own boat five years ago, Gaby immediately wanted a boat of her own as well. She sterned for her father and saved up her earnings year by year. Last fall she finally found a boat she could afford, a 30-foot South Shore built by a lobsterman in Boothbay. The boat needed a little bit of work (done by Art’s Marine) but for Gaby, that was fine. “I am grateful for it,” she said.

Everyone in Gaby’s family earns their livelihood from the sea. Her mother, Kim Grindle — whose family were among the early settlers of Islesboro and have fished its waters for generations— developed an interest in aquaculture and was able to participate in the Aquaculture in Shared Waters program in 2019. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, she launched Islesboro Oyster Co., inspired in part by Gaby’s love of oysters. Today, the company has LPAs for oyster, urchin, bay scallop, surf clam, quahog, and kelp cultivation.

Following in her mother’s footsteps, Gaby began her own aquaculture venture, growing kelp and oysters. “I’ve been doing that for about five years. I started when I was 13. I wanted my own business on the water,” she explained. She hired her brother, his friends, and Ken Sparta from Spartan Sea Farms, to help with the harvests. “Of course, going out in November [to set the kelp seed] is not the same as summer. You’ve got five layers on and it’s definitely not fun!” Gaby won’t be cultivating kelp this year due to a sharp drop in the market for farm-raised kelp.

Gaby on her boat. J. Blodgett photo.

Gaby’s older sister, Anna, has her own take on making a living on an island. An agriculture student at SUNY Cobleskill, Anna started Grazy Acres, a show goat and dairy operation. She runs a licensed dairy producing goat milk and cheese, including kelp goat cheese. In addition, she rents out a herd of goats to clear land and pasture. She also works on the water, lobstering and harvesting green crabs, continuing her family’s connection to the sea while building her own agricultural enterprise.

Gaby is getting her traps ready for the upcoming season. She currently lobsters without a sternman, which her mother doesn’t quite like.

“My brother goes by himself and I do too. We always wear knives on us. Lobstermen are always looking out for each other on the water. And my dad will check in with us,” she said.

This fall she will begin her studies at a maritime academy. Her goal: to get her captain’s license and sail the Mediterranean. Imbued with the entrepreneurial spirit of her family, it’s clear her horizons are limitless.