SOLOMONS, Md. — On a hot and humid Wednesday afternoon, Crystal Jordan arrived back at Fisherman’s Wharf, a dock of commercial crabbing boats on Solomons Island, after an early morning of crabbing. Joined by Rachel Dean, the two of them represent a growing population of female watermen in Maryland. In 1982, women held 13 out of the 2,320 commercial fishing licenses issued by the state of Maryland (less than 1%). More recently, that figure has increased to 566 of 6,758, more than 8%. In Calvert County, the pair say, this shift has been even more dramatic.
Solomons Island Fishing: A Women-led Industry
Women were never invisible in the crabbing industry. While the number of women out on the water may have been very small decades ago, they still played a decisive role.
“Previously women stayed at home, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t part of the industry. They were mending nets, shedding crabs, running the business, selling the seafood while the men were gone longer on the water. Now you see women taking over more of the work on the water itself,” Dean told The BayNet.
Dean, a Patuxent High School teacher during the year and waterman in the summer, has seen this shift herself. It isn’t that women are just now entering the water industry, but instead that they are becoming more visible within it.
Fisherman’s Wharf is particularly emblematic of this shift.
“In Solomons, I almost feel like there are more women running boats out of this location than men.”
Dean and Jordan pointed out across the dock, counting the many commercial boats headed up by women, not men.
“We’re definitely unusual here,” Jordan, now a professional crabber for 20 years after taking over from her father, continued. “We’re probably ahead of the curve when it comes to the number of women who can take a commercial boat out and run it.”
An unusual place for this revolution to occur, Jordan and Dean highlight the unique culture that the Southern Maryland water industry has built.
“Nobody questions whether we belong.”
Both Jordan and Dean run multiple boats, managing both the supply side and market side of the business.
“We’ve just been out here for years. We grow strong women around here.”
In a competitive industry where you would expect some amount of discrimination or barriers against female crabbers, Calvert County has found a way to get rid of that.
“We’ve been handed the reins by fathers and husbands who basically said, ‘Go for it.’”
Jordan was brought onto the boat by her father, who had her waking up at 4 a.m. at just 13 years old.
“Everybody had someone who encouraged them. We push each other.”
Neither of the pair spent much time talking about obstacles, but instead emphasized that, in their business, competence is all that matters.
“Nobody can take away the fact that Jordan can do the job. She proves it every day. Around here, we’re just one of the watermen.”
Motherhood On The Water
“When my son was 5 months old, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) pulled me over and said, ‘That’s the youngest child we’ve ever seen on a commercial boat.'”
Jordan’s 14-year-old son is following in her footsteps, living a childhood where he’s just as comfortable being on the water as off it.
“I told them, ‘This is what I do.’”
Jordan gave her niece a start in the industry within the tight network of crews at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Meanwhile, the realities of parenting off the boat add to the load of female fishermen.
Jordan recalls the unique experience of parenting a toddler while continuing her job.
“Every hour I’d stop working, go up into the cabin, breastfeed him, and then go right back to work.”
Jordan’s crew stood outside, waiting a few minutes before starting again like it never happened.
“We worked through our pregnancies, too, pulling pots right up until the end.”
Dean adds, “We’ve basically taken on two roles. We do the work on the water, and then we go home and do everything else too. Being able to raise a child while doing this work is definitely tough.”
These common hardships help foster the community at Fisherman’s Wharf.
“The men are always joking that we’re acting like a bunch of women, and we just stand back and laugh at them.”
Dean and Jordan smile.
“We get along better than the men do.”
“Everybody helps each other. If you need something, I’m going to help you. This isn’t a profession where you can survive by yourself.”
Notoriously slim margins create a camaraderie within the industry.
“If somebody’s boat breaks down, we’ve all been there. If somebody loses a market, we’ve all been there. If somebody’s truck breaks down, we’ve all dealt with that. It’ll probably be you tomorrow, so you’d better help today.”
More Work To Go
While Calvert County may be ahead of the curve when it comes to women entering the industry, more work is still to come.
Dean recalled that when the previous president of the Calvert County Watermen’s Association stepped down, she was asked to take the role.
“But I told them to give it to my husband instead.”
“The reason wasn’t because I didn’t think I could do it. In Calvert, I don’t face those stereotypes anymore.”
Although Dean is only on the water part time, her work as a teacher and the relationships she has built through education have made her an effective spokesperson for Calvert County’s watermen.
“But once you leave the county, people don’t necessarily know you. At that point, I didn’t want to have people dismiss what I was saying simply because I was a woman.”
Still, the trend is firmly in the right direction.
“As a whole, the industry has become much more welcoming to women. There’s really only one person I’ve ever dealt with who I honestly think didn’t like me because I was a woman.”
This is the exception that proves the rule, in Jordan’s eyes.
“I don’t think the men even notice anymore.”
Calvert County should be proud to have such a diverse group on the water. Young and old, men and women, this new world of increased participation could become a key pillar on which the delicate water industry relies.
“That’s probably the biggest message: This isn’t a dying profession. It has new, excited, energetic blood coming along.”
Dean and Jordan will continue to advocate for this essential part of Maryland culture and want to welcome as many young girls as they can onto their early morning crabbing adventures.
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