"All Hands on Deck: A look beyond the helm reveals salt in the wound for commercial fishermen"

7/29/2019 "All Hands on Deck: A look beyond the helm reveals salt in the wound for commercial fishermen"

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LARAMIE WILLIAMS HAS BEEN A COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN FOR TWELVE YEARS AND A DECKHAND HERE FOR SIX, AND NOW,

HES PROVEN HE DESERVES TO DIRECT THE RUDDER. THE 27-YEAR-OLD, WITH HIS STOCKY BULL FRAME AND SIGNATURE

LONGHORNS HAT, SITS BEHIND THE WHEEL OF THE KAREN BELL AS ITS NEW CAPTAIN. HE COORDINATES THE SCURRYING OF

DOCKWORKERS AND DECKHANDS, WHO HOP ON AND OFF LIKE PURPOSEFUL FLEAS, WHILE HE ROTATES THE BOAT IN POSITION

FOR ICE LOADING. DONT LET HER HIT THAT POLE, AND PUSH OFF THAT ANCHOR, HE YELLS OVER THE HUM OF THE ENGINE.


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BY JAKE COLEMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY EVAN SIGMUND

A LOOK BEYOND THE HELM REVEALS SALT IN

THE WOUND FOR COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN


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46 SRQ / JULY 2012

arry Carver,

Williams thin 22-

year-old deckhand,

friend and compar-

ative greenhorn,

walks his way

down starboard muscling the 55-

foot Broadfire boat clear of

potential scrapes. As the captain,

its Williams job to assure the

boat returns in the condition of

launch. Upon completion, this

pockets him a small stipend in

return off the top of the boat

owners customary 40 percent.

Once the boat is safely secured

abreast the dock, men begin fer-

rying supplies for the 12-day jour-ney across her freshly carpeted

surface: groceries, bait, ice, tackle

and fuel, all the necessities of the

longliners occupation.

Everyone hustles toward a

deliberate mission now. Today is a

rush day for Williams. He planned

to leave the following weekend,

but with some nasty weather

rolling in, he has to clear out early.

In consideration of the elements,

the captains job is to anticipate

and facilitate the necessary prepa-

rations to insure he and his two-

man crew avoid a broker, a trip in

which they never get out of the

red. It is on Williams shoulders to

navigate the water and its condi-

tions so as to best protect the

crews safety and prepare for a

successful catch.Before I go out on a trip, I

dont get any sleep, the captain

says. I lie in bed, try to sleep, but

my mind is always racing: what

do I got; what have I forgot; what

do we need; we need to get out at

this certain time; we got bad

weather coming. The target, of

course, is for the crew to start

working in profit, and the f isher-mens window of success is a nar-

row one. Each trip mounts to

roughly $4,000 in expenses; 40

percent of earnings get

sequestered to the vessels owner,

and then the trips remaining

profits are split three ways.

Williams still has to steam the

Karen Bell roughly 30 miles out

before they can start reeling in

the grouper, and he needs to beanchored and prepared for work

by daylight tomorrow.

NAVIGATING THE LAW

The Florida constitution in 1995, in

an attempt toward conservation,

outlawed the use of inshore gill

nets, which has always been the

predominant form of local fishing.

It was an abnormal move to

enforce the law through the con-

stitution. The gill net already had

previous regulations, and opposed

to the still legal cast nets, the gill

nets four-inch mesh size was far

more discriminate, allowing small,

non-bred fish to escape. The law

now extinguishes the possibility

of finding a flexible alternative for

the long-time fisheries that relied

upon the low-cost occupation. Inthe two years after the ban, the

new rule pushed fishermen far-

ther offshore, which caused most

of the communal fish houses to

go belly-up. It was the beginning

of a long string of perceived con-

servation-minded regulation that

tugged at the independent liveli-

hood of the traditional local fish-

erman: location bans, distancerestrictions, hook limitations and

GPS requirements for boats were

all seen as a form of occupational

attrition. Stone crabbing, bait fish-

ing, cast netting and shrimping

still provided work, but for the

average fisherman it was sparse

and, because of the intrinsic over-

head, only marginally profitable.

Offshore longlining emerged as

the primary market that couldstill sustain a consistent living,

but when the individual fishing

quota [IFQ] system was imple-

mented three years ago, that

whole industry changed as well.

The IFQ sets an annual harvest

limit in pounds for a given boat, and

all incoming boats must declare

their catch and subject it to be

inspected and logged. Differentfisheries are catalogued according

to their historical landings, which is

how much fish they brought in.

The way the fisheries were assigned

how much they were allowed to

catch was a result of the govern-

ment taking a 10-year window of

historic landings and allotting an

according percentage of the quota

per year based on the amount har-

vested. This meant that the vastmajority of boats did not qualify,

and in order for them to fish, own-

ers would have to purchase an

existing IFQ from someone

assigned a quota or from one of the

many investors leasing or brokering

the quota. With no way to establish

a documented precedent of catch

and little money to purchase the

necessary quota, the ole salt fishing

community all but withered.

When the IFQ system was

initially administered, AP Bell

Fish Company in Cortez was one

of only eight establishments to

receive a quota in Manatee

County, for which they were

given two. The company is syn-

onymous with the historic Cortez

fishing culture. Like many of the

early Cortez fishermen, Aaron

Parks Bell moved there in 1895from North Carolina, and after

several failed attempts at partner-

ing, he opened AP Bell in 1940.

The founders descendant Karen

Bell, whom Williams boat is

named after, now runs the com-

pany that essentially stands as

the only major full-service fishery

left between Fort Myers and

St. Petersburg.

These guys are workers,

Karen Bell states. What they do

is important to the economy and

the country because they provide

food for us. She starts ticking off

her fingers the fishermans

expenses: $150,000 minimum for a

boat, $40,000 for a longline

endorsement, $5,000 for a reef

permit. Add all that up, IFQs are

trading for $6 a pound, whichdoesnt even make sense. Why

would you pay $6 a pound for a

fish that you only get on average

$3 a pound for? Therefore, they

have that huge investment. Say

they catch a hundred thousand

pounds a year, how long is it

going to take them to pay off

that $600,000? Without having a

benefactor or someone to allowyou to operate a boat, its almost

impossible. Karen adds that the

people who do this job are inde-

pendent, salt-of-the-earth people

who havent done anything but

fish their entire lives. With the

kind of money it takes to buy

into it now, they generally

dont have the resources.

h

Cory Boak picks upgrouper. Right: HarryCarver with his baby

boy, Levi. Far right:Mike Westfall.


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The old guard fishers dont

understand it. They did away

with equal opportunity fisher-

men, says Arnold Soupy Davis,

an 85-year-old who has been fish-

ing for seventy years. When a

few fleet owners control 90 per-

cent of the grouper caught now,

theyve let just a few fishermen

fish. The rest are out.

Longtime fisherman Captain

Rick Waites adds: How can the

government tell a man who works

75 hours a week that he cant take

his son fishing and keep the fish?

How do you vote Americans out

of work? With eight boats to split

the yearly quota and roughly tenindependents that dock there, AP

Bell provides work for many fish-

ermen. For the offshore fee, the

company fronts them groceries,

bait, ice and fuel, and when the

men return, they hope theyve

made enough to pay back the

expense plus the 40 percent

yield for using the boat.

OUT TO SEA

Williams leaves the dock at

4:15pm and steams out to the sea

buoy, throwing their change at it

for good luck. They start prepar-

ing the equipment and baiting

the hooks so the gear is ready for

morning, then they steam

through the night. The Karen Bell

is anchored in the Gulf in time

for the men to get a couple hoursof sleep before sunrise. The boat

awakens about an hour before

daylight so the crew can sip on a

cup of coffee and get their bodies

moving. The fishermen pull the

anchor, make their first set and

unpack the bait to start cutting

it up. They position a longline, a

lengthy fishline positioned to

string along the bottom. Smaller

baited lines are strung off the

longline at intervals, trailing as

far back as five to seven miles.

The men are stringing to target

red grouper but wouldnt mind

reeling in a few black ones, which

pay a little better. It takes 45 min-

utes to set the gear in the water.

They let it soak for roughly

half an hour. Then, it takes an

hour and ten minutes to haul itback in. Once the fish are aboard,

theyre bled, gutted and packed in

ice. The crew makes four to five

of these sets throughout the

course of a day, from daylight to

dark, everyday for 10 to 12 days.

Through rough weather, nice

weather, we work it all, says

Williams. The team hopes to

land 1,000 pounds a day; thats

a good day at the office.

Williams and Carver talk

about what life on the open

water means to them. I love

being my own boss, says

Williams. Having the freedom to

go out and not have to worry

about what goes on on land. You

basically have no contact. Its the

peace and quiet really. Carver

adds: Its hard work, and youreaway from home a lot, but its

worth it. Its fun. All the problems

you have on shore, when you


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JULY 2012 / SRQ 49

leave, you dont have to deal

with it out there. Youre out

there to work; its all youre out

there to do. After almost two full

weeks of fishing, the Karen Bell

prepares for her 40-mile ride back

in shore. The crew works through

the day, cleaning the boat into the

evening and finishing up a little

before midnight. Then the crew

starts its eight-hour ride in, work-

ing off a wheel-watch shift, each

member getting about two-and-

a-half hours sleep. The men

start unloading at eight oclock

the next morning. They unload

all day, clean the boat and ice

out, pack their clothes upand head inside for their

paycheck from AP Bell.

Opposite page:Eduardo Jimenezsorts grouper off

the conveyor belt.This page: MikeWestfall on the

Karen Bell.


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50 SRQ / JULY 2012

Doug Boakwaits tounload.

Oppositepage:CoryBoak jumpsinto the holdof the KarenBell.

CATCH OF THE DAY

The fish company acts as a hold-

ing house for the fish that come

in, allowing regulatory inspection,

weighing the catch, paying the

fishermen for their pounds and

serving as a fresh fish market for

buyers that come from all over

the world. Its mandatory that all

commercial fish pass through

this process before they can be

sold for consumption. AP Bell

routinely ships to companies

from Georgia, Canada and across

the Atlantic. The company has to

sell the perishable product to

make margins and cover expens-

es for the fishermen and facili-

ties. Unfortunately, global compe-tition can make it tough for local

restaurants to buy their fish; the

product is limited with the IFQ

system with where it can go.

Local restaurateurs like Brett

Wallin of Walts Fish Market

Restaurant know the importance

of a fresh catch. Fresh is what

makes it count, Wallin says.

Thats always been my trade-

mark; I know the first name of

the guy who caught that right

there. Thats what is most valu-

able to me, the local stuff. Wallin

is a fourth-generation fisher who

works off his own fleet and in-

house IFQs that allow him to fish

both in- and offshore. Like many

of the surviving fisheries, he

adapted his own workable busi-

ness model that includes a

restaurant, fish market, cateringand selling to other establish-

ments. The issue is that, for

, ,, , ,,, , , , , ,, ,, ,

A quick primer for enjoying thebounties of the region. H.MORSE

,,,,, , , Habitat Offshore; rocky bottoms, reefsand drop-offs in waters over 60 feet. Size At least22 (black grouper); at least 20 (red grouper).Diet Fish and squid. Season AprilJanuary. TasteFirm white meat with a large flake and mild flavor.Price $$

, ,,,, , Habitat Inshore, along beaches duringfall. Size No minimum. Diet Algae and zooplank-ton. SeasonOpen. Taste Light and lean meat witha firm texture and moderate to full flavor (usuallyserved smoked). Price $

,, , , , ,, , , , Habitat Sandy or muddy bottoms.Size At least 16. Diet Small fish and crustaceans.Season June 1-July 30. TasteLean white meat witha mild flavor thats similar to flounder and not asstrong as swordfish (the red in its name comesfrom skin color only). Price $$$

, ,,,, Habitat Near shore or inshore waters withinlets and bays, usually found around buoys orwrecks. Size At least 33 fork. Diet Crabs, squid,small fish. Season Open. Taste Mild, similar toswordfish and yellowfin tuna. Price $$

,,,, ,, , , Habitat Inshore during spring and sum-mer, offshore during fall and winter; large num-bers migrate to Florida from northern areas dur-ing winter. Size At least 12fork. Diet Sardine-likefish, jacks, grunts, anchovies, shrimp and squid.Season Open. Taste Moist, fatty fish with darkermeat that has a defined fish flavor. Price $

,,,,, , , , Habitat Inshore on sandy or mud bot-

toms, usually in tidal creeks; occasionally theyrefound on nearshore rocky reefs. Size At least 12Diet Fish spawn, crustaceans, small fish. SeasonOpen. TasteLean, firm, white meat with light flakeand mild flavor. Price $$

, , , , , , , , , Habitat Offshore, found in rockyreefs, debris and wrecks in 60-240 feet of water.SizeAt least 30 fork. DietSquid, fish, crustaceans.Season August-May. Taste Firm, extra lean, whitemeat with mild flavor. Price $

, , , , ,, , , , , , , , , , Habitat Seagrass, overmuddy or sand bottoms, near oyster bars. Size18-27. Diet Summer/fall: crabs, shrimp;spring/winter: mullet, flounder. Season Open.Taste White, flaky, mild meat that takes on thetaste of whatever spices are used in the prepara-tion. Price $

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Habitat Inshore andnearshore near seagrass meadows, mangroves, ordeep holes and channels. Size 15-20 (one fish

over 20 allowed per person). Diet Shrimp andother crustaceans. Season Open. Taste Similar totrout, with a texture similar to whitefish. Price $

, ,, , ,, ,, ,,,,, ,, , , , , ,, ,, , , , ,, , , , , ,, ,, , ,, , ,


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restaurants without the local

fishing ties, the system can

make it difficult to consistently

obtain fresh fish at affordable

prices; its a problem that many

remedy by shipping in frozen fish

from elsewhere, further feeding

the greater industry issue of

removal from the local market.

The government plans to take

a harder look at the IFQ system

later this year and is considering

mandating buyers use their own

purchased quota under the logic

more shares would become avail-

able for the local fishermen. But

with the friction between rising

global demand and pressing

issues of conservation, the ques-

tion remains whether theyd beable to find a balance that can

help preserve the sacred legacy

of living off the water.

"All Hands on Deck: A look beyond the helm reveals salt in the wound for commercial fishermen"

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