 By 1816 (the year without a summer) Oke was working in Little Burin as a boatkeeper (boat-keeper), a term for fishing enterprises that were independent of the large merchants.By 1819, he moved to the port of Harbour Grace in Conception Bay, which was expanding its shipbuilding, fishing and seal oil industries.Opportunities and resources for work were available but competitive and in 1822 Oke had to sue William Warford for encroachment to regain his ground.