Donald J. (DJ) King is a lobsterman, fisherman, shellfish, and seaweed farmer living in Branford, Connecticut. He grew up in Branford and his father was in the truck transportation business. He got involved in the family business alongside fishing. In 1969, at the age of 10, his father introduced lobster fishing to him. DJ started with a small boat, where he did not have any devices to catch the lobsters in shallow water. At the age of 12, he made $ 300 by selling lobsters for an Italian wedding.

Eric Smith is a retired resource manager. He was born in 1949 and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. He liked building things in his childhood. He liked model train sets. He also enjoyed running in his early life. He was a cross country and track runner. Originally, he wanted to be a geologist. He enrolled at University of Rhode Island with the thought of getting a pathway to oceanography through geology. But it did not work that way. He then evolved into resource development and got a degree in it.