Johnny McCarthy

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Age: 32
Years lobstering: 8 (captaining his own boat)
Number of traps: 800
Buoy colors: Yellow with a blue stripe
Boat: 45’ Dixon
Boat name: TRUE NORTH
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Johnny McCarthy was born in Florida, but his mother, Greta Chilles McCarthy, is a Vinalhaven native. The family visited Vinalhaven throughout Johnny’s childhood, and finally moved back to the island when he was 7. It wasn’t until Johnny was ten, however, that he got his first taste of lobstering. Apparently something clicked, because he kept at it and got his first outboard three years later.

When Johnny graduated high school in 2006, he knew he wanted some kind of further education. He enrolled in a 60-week outboard engine program at the Marine Mechanics Institute in Orlando. He was able to live with and work for his uncle, making this a cost-effective choice. However, when he graduated from the program in 2008, the stock market had crashed and it was the worst possible time to try to find a job using his new skills. “There wouldn’t have been any money in what I went to school for,” Johnny said. He knew someone at home on the island who was looking for a stern man. It was perfect timing to get back into lobstering.

“I will forever be grateful for the opportunity I had,” said Johnny. “I wish all kids here had an opportunity to get away from here for a year. You realize how much harder it is to have a regular job making $10/hour. I’m a huge fan of trade school for kids around here. It’s a good option for someone who doesn’t want to be gone for four to five years.”

Johnny likes the independence that comes with captaining his own boat. “You can choose what you want to do, how fast you want work, how hard you want to work,” he said. “I love being on the ocean, and I like that it’s a sustainable fishery.”

As a local representative in the Maine State Lobster Zone Council for Zone C, Johnny has a fair amount of input regarding rules, fishing seasons and other things relevant to the fishery. However, there is one area in which he and other lobstermen are feeling increasingly helpless.

Like most islanders, Johnny sees federal regulations regarding the protection of Northern Atlantic Right Whales to be the biggest problem facing Maine lobstermen right now. “The world shut down for a virus and the price [of lobsters] has been just as strong as ever. Even a pandemic can’t hurt us as much as whales could.”

- Kris Osgood