Commerical Fishing is not a job, it is a lifestyle

Working so closely with commercial fishermen, I have developed something of an understanding of them. It is a look into the depths of the human psyche, because not only does it define a lifestyle but one of the oldest lifestyles of our civilization. Fishing dates back to, well, most likely before humans really organized into large collective units like towns and cities. The need to fill our bellies and the desire to gaze into the unfathomable drew a following and has kept some coming back for more since who-knows when.

A slight disclaimer, I am most familiar to fishermen of the Gulf of Mexico which is not a complete slice of fishing as a whole applied to the world. Nonetheless, I do believe some of it is universal to the industry based upon talking to fishermen who have traveled and my own reading of experiences world-wide.

Fishing is very primal; it is a vestigial hunter-gather instinct to find sustenance to survive. Only it is changed from finding food for yourself, family or community to trying to feed the growing population of the world.

A small irony of fishing is that in developing countries fishing is used by the less fortunate who don't have other occupations and little money to buy food. So, it is subsistence fishing with maybe a small profit made selling a really good days catch. In more wealthy nations, commercial fishing is huge business operated for profit. Large vessels, now days owned by a corporation, go out, spend tremendous amounts of money on consumables, to catch highly valued marine life. Workers that operate some of the boats don't get paid enough to buy what they are catching in the open market.

I digress from the original intent of this post. Due to the nature of commercial fishing; hard, dangerous, long times at sea; it has a tendency to attract certain types of people. Ex-convicts, drug abusers, loners and thrill seekers are the mos common. Usually the fishermen are a mix of a few or all. As a result, it is hard for these people to find other jobs. They either don't like society or can't get another job making the same amount of money. To add to this, many have been fishermen since they were young, may have even dropped out of school to go fishing and are so involved and specialized that they would have a hard time finding another occupation.

While, I hate the devastating effects that commercial fishing has had on the marine environment. And the guys who plunder and disrespect the ocean deserve to go out of business, I have come to understand some of the motivation behind it. I understand it down to my bones because I have experienced it firsthand with my own eyes and hands.