Women in Fisheries: Jenni Steele

The first word someone is likely to use to describe Jenni Steele is “energetic.” Steele, 59, owns and operates Island Fishing Gear and Napa Auto Parts in Stonington, a business she began with Su Oliver in 1988. Through the Island Fishermen’s Wives Association, which she helped create, she’s worked for years on behalf of fishermen to make sure they are safe on the water.

Jenni Steele, Stonington.

Steele, whose husband Gary fishes from Greenhead Lobster, laughs when she recalls starting the fishing gear business with Oliver.

Jenni and her son Garrett hauling traps some years ago. J. Steele photo.

“We were young mothers whose husbands fished. There was only one supply business on the island and because they had no competition, we would drive to Portland to get things at a better price for our husbands,” she said. “So we thought, ‘why not?’ We started in a closet at the Lobster Transport Building.”

The business quickly grew. The two women moved into a larger space and then, in 1995, another building became available.

“The Auto Parts store [then owned by Carly Webb] sits at the head of the

commercial fish pier. He did not want the auto parts business to go away so we kept it. It’s a great location. Having two businesses is good — when fishing is slow, the auto parts keeps us going and vice versa,” Steele said.

Shortly after starting the business, Steele and other women founded the Island Fishermen’s Wives Association.

“Two fishermen drowned within six weeks [in 1989]. We decided to create the Fishermen’s Memorial. It took about 18 months to raise the money. After that we worked on fishermen’s safety,” she said.

The annual Fishermen's Day, organized by the Island Fishermen's Wives Association, included events for the young and old.

Safety at sea is a personal concern for Steele, as it is for many fishing families throughout Deer Isle. “My father-in-law fished, my husband, both sons at one point, and my oldest grandson lobsters,” she said. “I have people out there and I want them to be safe.”

The Island Fishermen’s Wives Association organized many Coast Guard safety trainings over the years and set up safety inspections at the dock for local boats. They raised funds for safety gear, like first aid kits and emergency blankets, on vessels and even set up a program to distribute over 1,000 razor knives in sheaths to fishermen to wear while working.

If someone wanted to take a safety course, such as those conducted by McMillan Offshore, the Wives Association would help. “We made sure it happened and found scholarship money for it,” Steele said.

Stonington has changed over the decades and Steele has been there to witness it. Where once a range of fisheries kept the local boats busy, now lobster is the port’s mainstay. People from out of state have bought many homes in town for their summer residences and others have been turned into rental properties. But still, fishing remains the lifeblood of Stonington.

“We are definitely more of a vacation destination than before when we were all starving together fishing,” Steele said. “But lobstering is our livelihood and we want it to be there in the future. It’s not in the DNA of many of us to do a desk job. My son would go nuts. His passion is to be on the water. And to succeed and do well you have to have that passion for it.”

Stonington seems to have reached a fragile equilibrium between the needs of its fishermen and those who visit the town or vacation there.

“You have some people who move here from away and think they have great

Jenni Steele at the 2016 Fishermen's Day Celebration.

ideas about how to change things,” Steele said. “There’s always the issue of keeping a working waterfront. But as long as things stay in balance, we’re OK.”

Steele has been going full tilt for decades but is beginning, just slightly, to slow down. She stepped down from the Maine Fishermen’s Forum board after 10 years as a board member.

In 2019 the Fishermen’s Wives Association ended thirty years of its annual Fishermen’s Day celebration each July. “We’re still active but not as active,” Steele said, citing the group’s recent school supply drive and other activities.

She’s not putting her feet up just yet. In 2023 her business partner Su Oliver retired. “I’m full owner,” Steele said. Running a fishing supply store in a fishing town would keep anyone busy. But she finds time to do what she loves.

“I spend time with my grandkids and in the winter months I have the pleasure of traveling all over New England to watch my granddaughter perform with her all-star cheer team,” she said.