Fish are where you find them

In the infancy of my planning this first phase of my project, I’d wanted to come to eastern maritime Canada to try to hop on with a very particular class of boats – those involved in the giant bluefin tuna hand-harpoon fishery. I’ve gone out a few times with my friend Kirk in Maine, scanning the open ocean for any sign (a V-wake, fin, or a grand ol’ baitfish frenzy) of a 500-1,000 pound fish, which must then be stalked and, with luck, hit with a hand-thrown harpoon. If you ever have the chance to take part in this fishery, beware: all other worldly excitements pale in comparison, so the rest of your days may be spend secretly wishing you were chasing a massive bluefin. It will permeate your dreams. I could pine on about tuna fishing for hours, and I’ve had only a small taste of the fishery.

With tuna fishing set as an initial goal, another major goal was to see Newfoundland, which we’ve agreed is steeped in fishing history. It seems that Newfoundland’s history was shaped by fishing as much or more than any other region of North America. Why not tackle both goals- chase giant tuna and visit Newfoundland- with one stone? Well, perhaps I should have done a little more homework…

Offshore of Newfoundland, the cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream collide and create one of the largest thermogradients in the world. This steep temperature difference is ultimately what creates the highly productive Grand Banks fishing grounds. I’m getting off track, but my point is that tuna are generally warm-water fish, but will venture into northern waters to take advantage of this natural blender. Newfoundland is bathed on all sides by the cold, productive, oxygen-rich Labrador Current. The few remaining folks that chase giant bluefin (this is a dying fishery, as Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks have dwindled significantly in the past two decades) are based out of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, or Glouchester. This I discovered since arriving here.

Newfoundlanders have no difficulty in finding fish species with sufficient local abundance to target and bring to market. I feel like a fool for letting my imagination force-fit a particular fishery to a particular place. A wise skipper in Alaska once told me, “fish are where you find them”. Lesson relearned. Here and now in Fortune, Newfoundland, it looks like cod is the ticket. Cod it is.

Tough Buddy

Alaskans enjoy basking in the perceived toughness bestowed upon them by folks in the Lower 48, and many Alaskans are indeed deserving of the reverence. However, after having spent a few days here in what is likely a typical small fishing town of Newfoundland, I am ready to conclude that Alaskan tough guys/gals have nothing on these hardy folks. Not that it’s a contest.

Walking out of the one and only diner in Fortune the other evening, I was hailed from the deck of one of the few bars in town. An older man, a shrimper on rare leave from his boat, and his wife insisted that I come join them for a beer. After a few failed excuses, I agreed, and was quickly welcomed as a guest of honor. This, at a bar in Newfoundland, is a bit dangerous.

After only a minute or so inside, both my hands were holding drinks, and a new fellow, now trying to also offer me a warm welcome, tried to hand-feed me a cigarette. I declined, but offered to join him on the porch for a chat. The conversation was entirely one-sided, as I couldn’t understand even a single word that came out of his mouth. Trying to reciprocate friendliness in some way, I pointed out an unfinished cigarette that lay in the grass below the deck.

Before I’d finished my one sentence, my new friend vaulted over the rail towards the nicotine, headfirst. His spirit had trumped has current hand-eye coordination. My buddy’s shoulder, elbow, and nose shared the impact of the crash, and as he staggered to his feet with the cigarette, his flattened nose gushed blood. This phased him little, and the change of viewpoints made him aware of my foreign rubber boots. He quickly grabbed my right calf, peeled the top of my boot down a bit, and thrust his face towards it. A sentence came towards me, somewhere in the middle of which I thought I heard “insl’t’n”. I judged he was checking out the warmth of my boots. Blood now streamed down my boots, inside and out. I backed off and got my buddy a few napkins. He opted for a large paper tablecloth and proceeded to drink and smoke freely. I’m fairly sure he was about filled to the brim with both drink and smoke, but he didn’t seem concerned, and was still hard at it when I left.

Early the next morning, on my way down to the harbor, I saw “Buddy” once again, walking his kid to the bus stop. He gave me a quick nod. I’m not sure if it was a nod of recognition or one to acknowledge a stranger. Up here they greet a newcomer as warmly as a drinking buddy. Up here, there are some tough buddies.

Qualitative Stats

One way of comparing maritime regions and regional fishing culture, past, present, and upcoming. I’ll update and improve this, hopefully with sound clips, but I wanted to post a start. I think that boat names can be especially revealing, showing sentiments and attitudes of a region and the local fishermen. I’d love to expand this list, so please chime in with news from your favorite wharf...

HOMER, ALASKA


Targeted fish: salmon (mainly pink, sockeye, and coho), halibut, crab, Pacific cod, herring
Methods of fishing: purse seine, drift gillnet, setnet, longline, pots
Footwear: Xtra tuffs (ubiquitous brand of rubber boots)
Favorite local saying: "I can see Russia from my house!" (still working on this one)
Local food: Finn’s pizza, fresh Anchor River king salmon
Drink of choice: Homer Stout
Local entertainment: The Mule (3-Legged Mule, local band), Salty Dawg Bar, Downeaster Bar, Hobo Jim, razor clamming, sea kayaking
Select Local Boats: Galway Girl, Renaissance, Neptune, Boulder Bay, Nuka Point, Dark Star, Thalassa, Hanta Yo, Time Bandit, Centurion, Vind Saga, Malamute Kid, Heritage, Provider, Foreigner


FORTUNE, NEWFOUNDLAND


Targeted fish: cod, snow crab, lobster, whelk, capelin, squid, haddock, scallop
Methods of fishing: bottom gillnet, pot, jig, longline, trawl
Footwear: rubber boots (Dunlop, Baffin and other makes)
Favorite local saying: any sentence, ending with, “Ol’ buddy!”; “He’s a charmer, that ‘un”; “Eye til you, b’y!”
Local food: traditionally, fish and brews (salt cod and hard bread, soaked to desalinate and then boiled to soften); cod tongues, pea pudding; more currently fried chicken, chicken balls (battered fried chicken), wedgies (similar to homefries)
Drink of choice: Screech, Black Horse beer
Local entertainment: Going out on the machine (4 wheeling), Chrissy’s Bar, moose hunting, rabbit snaring, bingo
Local music: unique derivative of Irish music, for example "Shanneyganook" and "Buddy Whasisname and the Other Fellers"
Select Local Boats: Sarah Marie, Golden Girl, Partners III, No Name I, Lloyd’s Pride, Skeena Irene, Bradley Venture, Newfoundland Voyager, Courtney and Austin, Cape Bonavista, Moreton’s Harbour Mist, Maggie Chantal, Link Brothers, Miranda and Marshall, Silver Seas, Caitlin and Boys