What Gail Atkinson Made This Year

We asked Canadians, "What did you make this year?"

This is Gail Atkinson's story.

If there's one obvious thing about Gail Atkinson, it's that she has something to prove.

A lobster harvester from Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Gail commands a lobster fishing boat called the Nellie Row in the highly competitive and male-dominated lobster fishing industry.

Aside from running a successful business, there's another mission on her mind: "I want to be successful for other women. I never want people to say, 'It's a girl! She can't do it! She won't last!' So I do have something to prove, and I will probably keep that in the forefront of my mind until I stop fishing."

Now with 10 successful seasons behind her and a predominantly female crew, Gail continues to "rock the boat" in a male-dominated field.

"I'd like to think I make a difference by showing men that women can excel in all aspects of commercial lobster fishing—from steering the wheelhouse to handling the physically demanding tasks on deck."

Clearly, Gail is a renegade—but she's not the first in her family. Her grandmother—of which her boat, the Nellie Row, is named—was one of the first women to be involved in the Canadian boat-building industry in the '70s and '80s.

Gail's dad was also a boat builder. She remembers getting home from school and going immediately down to the shop to help him.

"The interesting thing was, I did the work with him—but it ended at the wharf. I just accepted that women didn't go out on the water fishing with men. That was the boundary. So for a long time, I didn't think [fishing] was an option for me. Then one day I asked my dad if I could go out tuna fishing with him—and I was blown away. I loved the excitement of it and the fact that you're the master of your own fate. It changed my life."

In Gail's "What Did You Make This Year" video below, she talks more about how she overcame obstacles, like gender bias, in her industry—and beat the odds.

Gender bias aside, the lobster industry also has a very high barrier to entry. It can cost upwards of $1 million to get into commercial lobster fishing—including the vessel, gear, and the licences required, which are some of the most expensive around.

"You'd have to be wealthy or have a family member turn a business over. I didn't have either of those things."

But what Gail did have was knowledge and experience—over 30 years of fishing on her dad's boat and as a first mate on a fishing vessel called the Bluenose II. She felt she had the skills necessary to operate her own lobster fishing business. So, in 2015 she seized a narrowing opportunity—due to escalating licence costs—and scraped together loans and lines of credit with the help of her family, along with her own savings. She was able to obtain her licence, become a boat captain, and launch her career.

"When I first came into town, I faced a misogynist-type atmosphere. But it just lit a fire under me. We built a holding car to hold all the lobsters we were going to catch. 'Wishful thinking,' they all said. It was the biggest joke in town. But we built it, put it in the water, and filled it. Then next year, we filled another, then another. Success is sweet."

Gail learned quickly as an entrepreneur that there are challenges to running a small business and specific trials in her industry. TurboTax can make it easier for her to focus on what's most important as she grows her enterprise and extends her influence in the industry.

Gail's business leadership goes beyond daily operations to a quest for female advocacy. She envisions establishing a training program specifically for women, which will equip them with fundamental maritime skills and improve their prospects in commercial lobster fishing.

What did Gail make this year? She made her place in this industry undeniable.