Boat to Table with Westport Lobster Company’s Skip Manchester - Part 1
by Phoebe Gelbard
Many of us go about our lives with a general understanding of where our food comes from, but gaining a deeper knowledge and appreciation for the work involved often requires personal experience in the industry. Skip Manchester, the owner of Westport Lobster Company in Westport, MA, and a former fisherman of 25 years, has experienced the seafood supply chain from the boat to the market. He knows exactly what it takes to get fresh, high-quality catch from the sea to one’s table, and his family is here to support and grow the business each step of the way.
Skip Manchester unloading at Lee’s Wharf after returning from an offshore trip
The Westport Lobster Company storefront
How It All Began
Skip Manchester is a Westport native and grew up around the water. It’s no surprise to him that his early years spent on boats and at the ocean led him down this path. “When I was a little kid,” Skip says, “I had always just decided that I wanted to be a fisherman. It was how I started to make money and it was what excited me. It's really all I knew.”
Some of Skip’s fondest memories of boating and fishing go back to his late teens and early twenties. He grew up around lobster boats, and his first fishing job was on a crabbing boat out of Fall River. After finishing high school and some college, he convinced his parents to let him have a year to figure things out for himself. “I went fishing and the rest is history,” he laughs.
Skip spent time working on other people’s boats until he met his wife, Pam. In his mid-twenties, Skip acquired his own boat and began working for himself.
“When I got my first fishing boat, I was single, and I had just met Pam. I was making that big leap where I was going to borrow money to buy my own boat and go into lobstering,” Skip says. At this point, the two had just started dating, but they had known each other for quite some time prior.
“We worked together, day after day after day, scraping and painting that boat and making it so pretty. [Pam is] an interior designer now, so she had an eye for the right colors. Everything in the boat ended up being beautiful. And the first trip I took on my new boat, she went with me. She never went again, but she went that one time. That's how my career with her and my family started. That was the first day of the rest of my life, so that was a great memory for me in the seafood business.”
Pam and Skip had three daughters, Jordan, Andee, and Hallie (together, they make “Jo-An-Ha”), and “after twenty-five years of being a fisherman, I really wanted to be home,” says Skip. The “natural transition” was to remain in the seafood business, but on land to spend more time with his family.
How to support Skip Manchester + Westport Lobster Company:
Visit The Store: 915 Main Road Westport, MA
Website & Join Their Email List: www.westportlobstercompany.com
Instagram: @westportlobstercompany
Facebook: www.facebook.com/westportlobstercompany
Skip’s first boat, F/V Risky Business, right after an intense storm blew the windows out and wrecked the boat
From left to right, Andee, Jordan, and Hallie on the back of the family’s skiff before it was put in the water;
Life on Land
For most, the transition from offshore fishing to working in the seafood business would come with a unique set of challenges surrounding the relationships between fishermen and fishmongers. Skip doesn’t shy away from this fact: “I am the guy I used to hate,” he says. “Nobody really likes the guy on the docks. He doesn't know what we go through. As a fisherman, you always kind of felt like you did 90 percent of the work and they got 50 percent of the money.” In Skip’s case, however, his extensive experience on the boat has provided him with the perspective necessary to maintain positive business relationships with those from whom he sources.
Skip explains that the fishing community of southern New England is more tightly-knit than some would expect. “From Cape Cod to New York, there may only be 300-400 fishermen,” says Skip. “If you're [fishing] for 25 years, you know a lot of them. You may not know them all, but you know who they are, and most people knew who I was.” To be known for your work, your practices, and your attitude is invaluable; you gain a reputation when you’re a part of the fishing community for that long. “I figured, you know what? I know all the fishermen because I fished with them. I grew up with them,” Skip explains. “Maybe the relationships there will allow me to buy the seafood from them and make it available to consumers.”
Skip’s transition from sea to land was relatively smooth, “but transitioning to a life on land versus being at sea was difficult for me because I really felt like life on land was slow and boring,” he explains. Skip says that his perspective has shifted significantly since then, noting, “I don't think I could have planned it any better.” While Skip dreamed of being a fisherman since he was young, he was able to not only live that dream, but to retire from the sea to be with his family and to buy the local fish market in town as well. “You know, I kind of feel like I'm the luckiest guy around. I feel pretty fortunate that I've been able to do it all.”
The first trip Skip made with Pam on F/V Risky Business after fixing the boat (photo taken by Pam)
A Community Cornerstone
Westport has one independent supermarket that serves the town of roughly 16,000 people. While it houses a small deli and seafood counter, Skip was motivated to run his seafood market in a way that gave members of the community more options. “I felt like our little seaside town was losing touch with local fish, despite being so close to the water. Our town has 15 or 20 fishing boats in it, so we have the opportunity to have fresh seafood here. I almost feel obligated to let people taste seafood through my mouth. I know how it should taste and the types of seafood that are available.”
Westport Lobster Company
Skip’s first-hand experience at sea has also motivated him to waste as little product as possible in operating Westport Lobster Company. While most of his customers are conscientious, unconditional supporters of the business, others are less understanding of why certain species are only available during certain seasons or why the price has increased by 40 cents per pound. Skip is hesitant to cut off a small piece of fish when a customer requests an exact weight, as this creates a piece that can’t be sold and therefore will be wasted. “Something I wish the consumer knew was what the actual harvester goes through to get it to them,” Skip explains. In this way, his business practices honor the fisherman’s work involved in getting seafood to one’s table as well as the life of the fish itself.
Skip had always wanted to run the seafood market that he now owns, Westport Lobster Company. But it took some time for the transition to occur. After over a decade of owning Liberty Lobster Company (a wholesale entity in New Bedford, MA) and trying to buy Westport Lobster Company from its owner at the time, Skip finally convinced them to sell him the business. Fast-forward to now, and the Manchesters not only run the market, but they have big plans for the future with their family, town, and the fishing community in mind.
How to support Skip Manchester + Westport Lobster Company:
Visit The Store: 915 Main Road Westport, MA
Website & Join Their Email List: www.westportlobstercompany.com
Instagram: @westportlobstercompany
Facebook: www.facebook.com/westportlobstercompany
A variety of raw fish inside a display case at Westport Lobster Company
Lobsters ready for customers at Westport Lobster Company
A Note from the Author
Stay tuned for Part II with Jordan Manchester, Skip’s daughter. Part II of this piece will be published on Sunday April 4th where Jordan shares her perspective on the duality of growing up in a fishing community and the future vision for Westport Lobster Company.
Thank you to Skip for sharing with us your experiences within the seafood industry and making sure the community around Westport can access local seafood.
*All photos were generously provided by the Manchester family