INTERVIEW BY: MIKEY AGULTO
March 18, 2010 | 1802 views
I think it’s a little more exciting than the one trap at a time thing you see from Deadliest Catch. I don’t know. It’s not that interesting to me because I’ve done it all my life.
It’s kind of funny, but I know other people that have watched it have enlightened me to what they see in the show. That they’re surprised that we fish at night and that we go so far offshore and how many lobsters are in a trap and stuff like that. It seems to be entertaining to people.
What do you guys do when you’re not on the sea?
We lobster for about nine months and then we crab for three. Right now I’m catching Jonah crab, so we really don’t have an off season. I fish 12 months of the year.
How has global warming affected your job?
I’ve been keeping track of the water temperatures for 30 years in my log books and I really don’t see any difference at all.
That's good news, we guess. Still, you have a hard job. Do you ever get lonely in the middle of the sea?
No. I wouldn’t say I do. We get so involved in our work and we’re on deck most of the time, that a three day trip goes by very, very fast. Don’t forget I have my dog, Chumley, with me every week, so he keeps me company, even if he’s smelly with fish bait.
How about your kids, would you let them follow your wet footsteps?
I have three sons that all fished with me and two daughters. One of my daughters has gone fishing for about a half a summer. But my sons, they did it all through going through high school and a little bit in college, but none of them chose to be fishermen as a career.
But my oldest son is in the marine industry. He does offshore race boats and marine mechanics, a lot of welding he does. But my boys did not follow in my footsteps. I think that had a lot to do with the government intervention in the fishery. They just saw that it was going to be very hard for them to make a living under the new government regulations.
It takes a lot of hard work to get lobsters. But in the end people will just eat them, not knowing what guys like you have been through just to catch one.
No, I know. That’s a fact. People don’t realize how much hard work it is to catch them and keep them alive and bring them to market. I think that’s one of the things the show is going to depict is just what goes into catching lobsters. Hopefully, they’ll have more of an appreciation for it.
If you’re not catching lobsters, what do you think you would be doing?
I would be running sport fishing yachts for private people, doing fishing tournaments and things like that.
Do you have any nicknames or trademarks on the job? Are you notorious for anything, say, pranks?
Yes, I’m a dancer. I play disco music and I dance.
No way. That’s very unlikely.
That’s my trademark. Yes, it keeps the crew with a light heart.
