|
JONATHAN ROBINSON
Jonathan Robinson got involved with commercial fishing as a
little boy when fishing was bigger than it is now, and he
didn’t have many alternatives. All of his family was
involved in commercial fishing so he would work with his
family member’s boats over the summer.
His first actual job was with his Uncle Charles Smith.
Jonathan, his Dad, and his Uncle Charles would go out and
long-haul for fish and shrimp. He built his 40 foot boat in
1978 and named it the Down East. He named it the Down East
because he really liked this end of the county and didn’t
know if he should name it after a girl or not.
When he goes fishing he goes with a couple of other people
and another boat. He still long-haul fishes, primarily, but
he has also crabbed and shrimped. Long- hauling is
something you can’t do by yourself he says.
To get to this point in his career he has been working at it
for almost 30 years and has spent a lot of time doing it.
He has also seen a lot of changes in his career, but he says
the biggest change he has seen is the trend in the market
place. People are going after convenience and speed so they
don’t have enough time to sit down and eat seafood. Even
though more seafood is consumed it isn’t the kind they sell
around here.
The things he likes about being a commercial fisherman is
working for himself, and being
outside and having that freedom. It is different almost
every day. He says there are a lot of days when you don’t
know what you’ll face that day and a lot of variables play
in when you are outside and when you deal a lot with nature.
In the past ten years, many things have changed
in the commercial fishing industry. Some of the biggest
changes I will
describe to you in this
descriptive passage that follows.
One of the first issues is that there are so
many alternatives in today’s economy, and not enough people
commercial fishing. It
didn’t used to be like that. There
were a lot of people in the commercial fishing industry.
Back then there weren’t many alternatives
unless you had a
college degree. In the past couple of years, more
alternatives and opportunities have popped up all over. Due
to
that, less and less people are commercial fishing.
Another issue is that more and more people are trying to
point out that Carteret County has the best seafood in North
Carolina. More pressure is being put on the commercial
fishermen. More pressure to produce, more pressure to sell,
and more pressure to make more money. People are coming
from all around to try, what is called, the best seafood in
N.C. A few years ago people were commercial fishing just to
make a living. Now they have to impress people with the
quality and the food they have produced.
The third and final issue is the more regulations and limits
being put on the table. They are catching a lot of seafood
but they can only keep a fraction of it. Mostly because it
doesn’t meet the regulations and limits that are set. Money
is going down the drain, when it could be going to the
fishermen.
Some of the biggest challenges that we face now in the
commercial fishing industry is having to compete with other
food sources. You are competing with others that produce
food. A lot of those are packaged for convenience more than
they are quality. It takes a lot of effort for seafood
dinners. The industry has kind of struggled in the
marketplace in the last few years.
We
are continuing to compete with the third world countries
where the seafood is bought, sold, and caught for cheaper.
A lot of the products seem inferior to some commercial
fishermen, but consumers are purchasing them because they
are cheaper. Most of the time, other country’s fishing
operations are decided by their governments. Sometimes they
have lower standards and less regulations than we do.
More people are buying seafood for on-the-go convenience,
and are not purchasing them for at home meals. People don’t
prepare food at their house as often as they used to. Even
though there is more seafood consumed, it’s not the kind we
are producing and selling here. We’re also losing a lot of
money; because we are spending more money to produce we
aren’t making a profit. The North Carolina Marine Fisheries
Commission is trying to balance the fish caught, and the
fish in the sea. It is messing with what we are used to
doing. Now there are more limits and regulations than
ever. The Marine Fisheries Commission is now, more than
ever, trying to keep enough fish in the sea.
SOLUTIONS
Some of the solutions that are in action now are campaigns
like Carteret Catch. Carteret Catch was formed to supply
local restaurants and people with fresh, local seafood
through community and business partnerships. They have
signs and flags on store windows that indicate that the
seafood was locally caught. It helps the fishermen by not
making them have to compete with imported seafood. Carteret
Catch’s long term goal is for fishing communities like
Harkers Island, Cedar Island, Atlantic, and Davis to develop
a plan that is market driven and focuses on high quality,
local branded seafood. The theme of Carteret Catch is
“Select North Carolina Seafood from the fisherman of
Carteret County.”
For generations, families Down East have made a living from
working the waters- from clamming, shrimping and fishing in
Core and Pamlico Sounds to beach seining off Bogue Banks.
Most communities Down East are so tiny that most people know
each other on a first name basis.
Citizens can support commercial fisherman by buying directly
from a fisherman or from a fish house rather than buying
imported seafood.
|
