ABOUT LOBSTERS 147 



tive in that their earnings were distributed on the basis of 

 stock holding rather than patronage. This factor contributed 

 to the short life of many of them. 



The old belief that a farmer's business interests should 

 end at his front gate still was strong in 1900, and this belief 

 is still shared by many lobstermen. On the other hand, 

 farmers learned much about business methods in their early 

 attempts to cooperate. They also tasted the strength of 

 organization and acquired cooperative experience that their 

 fathers did not possess. 



The loss in 1960, during the hurricane, of all the tanked 

 lobsters held by the Massachusetts cooperative in Scituate 

 must have been an eloquent, though painful, lesson of the 

 risks which dealers take. 



Some lobstermen's cooperatives were formed primarily 

 as purchasing agencies; they could buy a whole truckload of 

 bait at a wholesale price, without having to give up several 

 days' fishing each month to go after bait. Moreover, they 

 were much more certain of getting their bait than any in- 

 dividual lobsterman could be. In addition, they could pur- 

 chase warp and other gear at better prices. Today, most 

 cooperatives buy the lobsterman's catch, paying cash as do 

 other lobster buyers, and handling the sale of the lobsters. 



There are five lobster cooperatives in Maine, and one 

 large one in Massachusetts. They are a definite step forward 

 towards uniting many men's interests, thereby multiplying 

 their strength. They have the opportunity to band together 

 and exert better marketing practices, something the other 

 lobster buyers have not been able to do. Their success de- 

 pends on their ability to obtain able managers, and on such 

 control that lobstermen are obliged to trust one another. 

 When lobster buyers tried in the past to join forces, they 

 found that members could not be trusted to live up to their 

 mutual agreements, and the union fell apart. This lack of 

 trust is one of the biggest weaknesses among lobstermen. If 

 anyone is a more rugged individualist than a lobsterman, 

 he'd be hard to find. If anyone suggests that he give up an 

 iota of his freedom, he will bristle with indignation and tell 



