02/03/2023
This is it in a nut shell!!!!
So, you wanna be a fisherman?
The sun pounds your back on the deck as you work as fast as you can to return any by-catch back to its rightful place in the water. You respect the sacrifice that the ocean makes for your livelihood, you are thankful for it, and You want anything caught unintentionally to see another day. Someone on the internet, sitting at home in the AC comments that you are “violating the ocean life”. Their fridge is full of foreign farm-raised seafood. So, you wanna be a fisherman?
The work is exhausting and monotonous. Your hands hurt, your back aches and your skin is covered in scales and grease. The wind picked up from the southwest today, and the boat pitches up and down. You might feel a little queasy, but there is more work to be done. A wave comes over the rail and soaks you from head to toe as you haul in the nets. Capt says y’all will be side-to for a little bit, you zip up your rain gear because there are shrimp to pick up. So, you wanna be a fisherman?
Your crew has been working hard, but you haven’t broken even yet. You’re listening to the other captains around you, no one is having a lot of luck. You know that you and your crew both have bills to pay this month, but the shrimp just aren’t where you thought they would be. You’ll watch your fish finder, pay attention to the radar and try another spot. You hear over the radio that fuel went up and the price of shrimp dropped again. So, you wanna be a fisherman?
5am. Time to pull the anchor and get the day started. You’ve been out for 6 days straight now and only 2 bins are filled, mostly 30s. You stay hopeful and work every drag with the rest of the crew. Had to take time to grease the winch today, Sharks ate a few holes in the nets that need mending. Something always needs fixing, it’s just finding something more scarce than shrimp right now; money and time. The boat keeps moving, “we’ll drag tonight boys” the captain says. You need a little rest but you would forego any for a big haul of at least 26s. So, you wanna be a fisherman?
You get a little phone service to talk to your family. You get to hear about another ball game you didn’t get to see. You are glad that last trip was a good one so you could afford the uniform, your son shows a lot of promise on the field. You’re proud, you’ll try to make a game soon. You talk to your youngest, They tell you they wrote about you for school because they want to work on a boat just like you when they grow up. You have to say goodbye because it’s time to work. There is a thin pink line separating the sky and the water. The sun starts to come up. It’s beautiful. It inches higher in the sky, and light hits every corner of the water around you. The wind blows, the dolphins swim, the doors sway with the waves. What a magnificent office view you are blessed with. God reminds you that you always wanted to be a fisherman.
Griffin Hewett
