A Peek into a Different World

227-Ton Haida and 25-Ton Got d' Fever in Port

Shrimp Net

Hauling in a Bounty of Shrimp

Port Brookings and the Chetco River, Pacific in Background

Replaced Docks at Brookings after the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami

Docking between two commercial fishing boats isn’t always a bad thing; it can be an opportunity to meet some friendly and interesting folks as we discovered in Brookings.  We had the opportunity of a life time when we were invited to a barbeque dinner aboard a neighboring 227 ton commercial shrimping boat, named Haida.  We came aboard with a load of questions about commercial fishing and went away with a greater understanding and appreciation of this highly competitive business.  We had been under the impression that individually owned commercial fishing boats mainly fished in local waters near a home port; when in fact, commercial fishermen go all over the world following the movement of fish like tuna for example.  The Haida is currently set up for shrimping and has cruised the entire West Coast and at one time traveled through the Panama Canal to fish in the Gulf Coast.  Locating fish and understanding where they are headed is an all important component for financial success.  Commercial fishermen also need to invest in expensive equipment, understand regulations, be a financial manager, fish broker, marine biologist, and people manager to hire and manage a crew.  Another major factor for success is keeping the catch fresh (chilled) while they continue to fill their hold and return to port.  Keeping up with new techniques for preserving and transporting fish and shrimp is important to stay competitive.  The Haida just invested over a hundred thousand dollars in a new chilling process to super-chill (near freezing temperature) shrimp to maintain its flavor and freshness for market sales.  Interestingly, fish prices have increased dramatically in recent years due to the increased demand from China, adding to the local, national, and international competitiveness of commercial fishing and shrimping.  By the end of the evening, we finally got to ask one of our burning questions – why do fishing boats leave their huge, bright flood lights on all day and night?  Answer - to keep an electrical load on the boat’s motor generator (Genset) used to create AC electricity for the boat.  Underscoring the massive size of equipment on these commercial fishing and shrimping boats, the crew humorously noted that Haida has the same John Deere diesel engine as Got d’ Fever’s main engines, however, on Haida this engine is used to power just one of their three generators - now that’s a serious boat with serious equipment!  The vessel Haida was built in 1979 and owner Mike Smith has been refurbishing the interior with new floors, finished ceiling work, and new galley cabinets and countertops - an ongoing project of several months’ time and labor.  Oh, did I mention the fantastic dinner – we had barbequed tuna served with a delicious currant/wine reduction sauce, asparagus, and squash.  Not only is Mike an extremely successful commercial shrimper, but an excellent cook as well.  We were also impressed with the friendly and welcoming nature of our host and his mates, sharing jokes and stories as if they had known us for years.  Other guests at the barbeque included staff from the Port of Brookings.  Dan, who is the operations manager of the port, pointed out the area of docks that had been damaged by tidal surges as a result of the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan and the Tsunami that followed.  Forty percent of the docks at Brookings were destroyed, three boats sank, and numerous boats damaged, while a boat still attached to a dock was swept out to sea.  Thankfully, the Port received funds from FEMA to replace the docks, and employees worked hard to clean up all the debris on their own time.  What an informative and fun evening we had! We even came home with crabs, no not that kind, the edible kind which Dan gave us.  We continue to be pleasantly surprised at the opportunities to meet people from all walks of life - pleasure boating seems to afford lots of invitations to rub elbows with others.