COOPERATIVE UPDATE
Out of the Crab’s Claw
Women's crab meat co-op helps revive economy of Chesapeake Bay island
Editor's note: This article updates one that first appeared in the November 1995 issue of Farmer Cooperatives.
Five years ago, the hardy people of
Tylerton, Md., were struggling to preserve a way of life that for generations has revolved
around the harvesting of the sea.
Crabbing and fishing - the only industries in
this village of 75 people on Smith Island in Chesapeake Bay - had fallen on hard times.
Sea catches had been falling, with many aquatic species virtually disappearing from local
waters.
Furthermore, Maryland's tough new crabbing
regulations were making it even harder for Tylerton's watermen to stay in business.
These were difficulties that affected the women
of Smith Island as well.
The island's primary source of income was the
soft-shell crab harvest. While soft-shell crabs - caught in smaller numbers along with the
hard-shell crabs - are sold whole, the watermen have always turned over hard-shell crabs
to their wives, who pick and pack the meat for sale to the mainland. The women
traditionally did this job in their own work sheds, usually located behind their homes.
Crab picking provided an important source of
supplemental income. Most island families could not survive without this money.
Then, in 1993, state health inspectors
threatened to shut down Tylerton's crab meat picking industry if a modern picking facility
wasn't opened by the summer of 1996. Although Tylerton's crab meat was considered premium
quality and got high marks from the health department, the little packinghouses didn't
meet state standards for commercial seafood processing facilities.
Many saw the state's demands as a giant nail in
Tylerton's coffin.
To save their crab-picking industry, women of
the island formed a cooperative in 1993. After a three-year struggle, Smith Island Crab
Meat Cooperative Inc. secured funding for a new picking and packing facility. In all, they
raised $283,000.
"We formed this co-op because we saw our
way of life and our livelihood being lost," co-op member Tina Corbin said, in 1995.
"If women can't find a way to work and pull in that income for their families, then
Tylerton and part of Smith Island is going to cease to exist. I don't want to see it go. I
will do all I can to see that this co-op succeeds. I'm willing to give110 percent."
Co-op Success
Today, the co-op's picking and packing
facility is in its third season of operation. It's a licensed, state-of-the-art building.
Completed in 1996, the building houses stainless steel tables and counter tops, ice
machines, cement floors, scrubbable walls and ceilings, and proper storage facilities.
Crabs are also steamed under pressure, as required by state laws. Indeed, there have been
no fines levied against the co-op or its crab meat.
"We did what the health department
said," says current co-op president Betty Marshall.
Since its first year in the facility, the coop
has operated without any debt other than the bank note for the building and its regular
monthly bills, says Janice Marshall, co-op founder and first president.
Crab meat is packed in the co-op's own branded containers. Most is
sold to restaurants.
In 1996, co-op members produced 14,000
pounds of crab meat. In 1997, they sold 19,000 pounds. This year, they hope to do as well
or better.
"We've got 15 women working together and
all is going well," Betty Marshall says. "That was a big change since most of
them were used to working on their own."
Adds past-president Janice Marshall, "We
have faith in the Lord for giving us the wisdom to deal in the business world but more
importantly, to deal with each other.
The co-op has buyers for the crab meat even
before it's picked. Rusty Rudder, a restaurant in Dewey Beach, Del., buys most of the
co-op's output. The crab meat sells for $13 a pound, which is considered a good price.
"We pride ourselves on handling our own
product," Janice Marshall says. "My name is on that crab meat container, so I
make sure my product is clean, fresh and free of shells."
The co-op also employs three
"steamers" who work during the 20-week season that runs from late June through
November.
A big chunk of financing for the co-op's new
facility was provided in 1995 by $155,000 in grants and repayable loans from USDA Rural
Development. The co-op secured another $45,000 in other grants, loans and member
investments. It also received $83,000 from the State of Maryland. There have been no more
grants or loans since then.
"We've been able to keep going on our
own," Janice Marshall says. "I believe we must be one of the smallest co-ops in
existence but we provide one of the best products any co-op of producers has on the market
today."
 Wade Binion, a USDA co-op development specialist, meets with the Smith Island Crab Meat Co-op board of directors.(USDA Photos by Bob NIchols) |
A Change for the Good
In many ways, Tylerton has changed little
since the co-op was formed in 1993. There are still no cars or roads in the township, only
paved footpaths. The only access to the mainland is a 35-minute boat ride. There still
aren't many tourists. And there's little likelihood that the island's population will
grow, so the co-op's membership is not expected to increase.
But in other ways, Tylerton has seen
significant changes since the women formed their co-op. There's now a bed and breakfast
inn on the island that attracts a few visitors. The Save The Bay Foundation brings out
mainland school children to visit the island's salt marshes as well as the crab picking
operations. In fact, the co-op's picking facility has two large viewing windows for
observers to see what goes on inside.
The co-op also is going into the T-shirt
business. It will soon be selling T-shirts that show a crab with a picking knife in hand.
"The back shell of a crab looks like a lip," says Janice Marshall. "So the
T-shirt logo will say: 'Smith Island Co-op Crab Meat Is Lip Smacking Good."'
Because of the long off-season, co-op
members are looking for other business possibilities as well.
The 15 members pay $200 a year to belong
to the co-op. They also pay $2 for each plastic container and lid that holds the finished
crab meat. There are seven directors on the board who meet once a month. They no longer
meet in a church basement but in the co-op's office inside the picking facility. Members
take turns handling the bookkeeping and building clean-up
.
Lindsay Bradshaw pulls up a crab cage from the Chesapeake Bay near Smith
Island, Md. His wife is a co-op member who will process and market his soft-shell
crabs.
And the oyster season this year showed an improvement
over previous years, which has helped the local economy The fishing and crabbing
businesses still flow through hard times, but husbands have come to depend on their wives'
incomes through the co-op.
"I'm proud Tylerton has this kind of
packinghouse," says Janice Marshall. "It gives the women a chance to get
together each day, like going to a regular job. It not only gives them a feeling of
independence but the knowledge they're helping out the family."
She adds, 'This small co-op of women is
combining the basics of business and an excellent product into a success we never
expected." 
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