Jerry Schill

Memorial for Fishermen Lost on the Water

By Jerry Schill, President of the North Carolina Fisheries 

During the Commercial Fishermen's Memorial Service on February 17th at the North Carolina Maritime Museum, Jerry Schill gave the Memorial Address. It is reprinted here.

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother, Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men. At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed Him.—Matthew 4: 18-22

Some "experts" claim that commercial fishing is ONE of the most dangerous occupations in America. Others say that is THE most dangerous occupation. In a survey released last fall, commercial fishing was listed as the least most desirable occupation out of the 250 occupations listed. And here we are on the coast of North Carolina in the year 2001 remembering many folks in the industry who have died while making their living in the commercial fishing industry. But we are not here just to remember, but to celebrate their lives as well as the lives of everyone still involved in this heritage, dangerous and unpredictable as it is.

It's quite obvious why we remember those who have passed on. But why celebrate? Well, many of you, perhaps most, do so because it has been a part of your life for more than one generation. There are reasons why, however, that those of us who were never commercial fishermen choose to celebrate today. We do so because it reminds us of the kinds of hard work and attitudes that made America what she is today.

Commercial fishing is one of the last bastions of true free enterprise in the United States. The law of supply and demand still works in this business. It's interesting because you'll hear fishermen and fish dealers praise it and cuss it in the same breath. When a certain species first hits the market at high prices, there's nothing better. But when prices plummet due to high catches domestically, or if the markets are being filled by imports, then it's doom and gloom. Unlike many other industries, higher costs simply must be absorbed. If the cost of diesel fuel goes up, well, just tighten your belts, because if you don't sell at a certain price your product will simply be brought in from a country that's subsidizing its fishing industry.

Not long ago, I was at a meeting in Washington, DC with some non fishing folks, and one of the Phds asked me if it would help commercial fishing if fishermen could have some sort of guaranteed annual income. My answer was that it would devastate, indeed ultimately destroy, that way of life. First, I told them that they needed to keep in mind that I have never personally been a commercial fisherman. Second, many fishermen may disagree with my rationale. Nonetheless, I remain convinced of this thought. There are many facets to the allure of the life of commercial fishing. A lot of it we've heard before, and is similar to that of many who work in the outdoors, especially rural folks. The fresh air, the freedom to come and go as I please, (or at least that perception), the good feeling one gets from hard work, etc., etc. But the one element that so frightens most of us is what excites the commercial fishermen. The unknown.

Let's look at fishing vessels. What happens if my car quits running when I'm enroute to a fish meeting? Well, maybe I'm late. Big deal. What happens when a truck driver gets a flat tire? He pulls off the side of the road and calls for assistance. Other than the aggravation and lost time, (money), he's no worse for wear. But if a fisherman is offshore and has engine problems, or gets gear caught in his wheel causing him to be dead in the water, then what? Depending on the weather, his very life and the lives of his crew are in jeopardy. That risk is true even without equipment failures, as the weather is always an unknown offshore, especially when working with booms, winches, cables, hooks, nets, and trawl doors.

How about fish? If we're a red-blooded American we like competition. If we're a politician, the competition is at the ballot box or on the floor debating a bill. Salesmen compete against their competitors across the street, or across the showroom floor. Even kids compete against their siblings for the attention of their parents. But a fisherman beats all. Regardless of how his fishing trip is, he's always concerned about how other fishermen have fared. Even if he has the best fishing trip he's ever experienced, somehow he just isn't "complete" if somebody else at the dock did him one better. That's not greed. That's being American! We didn't get to be number one by taking second best or being good. We got here by striving for number one, and commercial fishermen are very much a part of what makes us great.

A commercial fishermen makes nary a penny unless he catches fish. When he leaves the dock, he is already in the negative with certain fixed expenses such as fuel. Depending on the fishery, a number of other fixed costs can be added, such as ice, bait, and groceries. In most cases, the owner of the fishing boat is also the operator.

However, sometimes the owner hires someone else to operate the boat as its captain, and it's up to the captain to hire the crew. When the trip is over and the fish are packed at the dock, expenses for fuel, ice, groceries, bait, etc., are deducted, and the captain and crew share the balance. These folks don't get a W-2 at the end of the year; they get a 1099 as an independent contractor. Again, they have no idea what their paycheck is going to be until they get back to the dock. Most folks in today's society have a real hard time understanding the theory of getting paid according to production.

Since many Americans have never experienced getting paid according to production, they have a hard time accepting this concept of risk. They cannot understand it, and even try to change it! Since they personally cannot imagine living such a life, they assume that guarantees are best for everyone. Guaranteed income isn't the only area either. Commercial fishermen who have many years of experience can tell you about cycles. About how fish populations vary from one cycle to another like a roller coaster regardless of fishing pressure. But many in government circles believe more in science that the will of God.

A fishermen has a love/hate relationship with this way of life. The allure of the water is that of the unknown. It is a spirit that relishes the risks on one hand, but despises them in another. It's a good life when a trip is culminated with a smooth running engine, gear that doesn't break down, good catches, and good prices, with a minimum of expense. It amounts to a profitable trip for the owner, the captain, and the crew.

But if the "unknown" is taken away from the experience, the allure is gone. A trip void of risk would be a boring trip indeed. Most of us sit on land thankful for the nice office, roll top desk, weekly salary and perks, and expense accounts. A commercial fisherman would absolutely be destroyed in such a setting. His mental being is filled with what made this country what it is. A day filled with the unknown, both with his own safety and with his paycheck.

A pioneer spirit that is proud to be paid according to production rather than any sort of guarantee.
God help us when this country loses this last semblance of the pioneer in all of us!
The guarantee that the fishermen does rightfully expect, is simply the right to work. The right to provide a healthy source of protein to a hungry world.

That guarantee again is the right to work, not to guarantee results from that labor. For if one is to be able to experience the opportunity to succeed, one must also have the OPPORTUNITY TO FAIL. Guaranteed success only guarantees mediocrity. And mediocrity is not what made America what she is today.

There are those in today's society that love regulations, and criticize fishermen for hating them. It's absolute nonsense to pose the argument that NO regulations are needed in the fishing industry. When managing public trust resources, regulations are vital in the protection of these resources in the interests of the public who own them. (Including consumers, I might add!) However, for anyone to expect fishermen to blindly accept them is sheer idiocy. The disdain that fishermen show toward regulations simply shows that they are red-blooded Americans, not the rogues that they're often painted. The only American businessman that readily accepts regulations is the one that is trying to impede his competition, and that smacks at the very heart of the free enterprise system.

Haven't we all faced what seems to be an insurmountable task? It's like God has instructed us to single-handedly push an a huge rock. We can't budge it, but we keep pushing. Although we can't budge it, we remain steadfast, hardening our muscles and our spirit. After being faithful and pushing for a long time, we wonder if it's all worth it.

Life gives us challenge after challenge and we wonder if God is listening. But God does not ask us to be successful, but to be FAITHFUL. Hard as it is to do at times, we must remain faithful that God has a reason for our tasks. It may not make sense at the time, but those muscles that we have hardened by pushing on that rock of life are going to be needed somewhere down the road. Maybe the rock you are pushing is making you tough mentally or spiritually, for that which God has in store.

Remember that Jesus had other words for His followers, and those words were an indication of how those muscles would be needed.

Matthew 5; 11: Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven.

Matthew 10; 16 & 17: Behold I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues.

So let's not just remember these fine folks today in a morbid sense, but celebrate their lives and our memories of them. We will not let them be forgotten, for their spirit is that which, with help of Almighty God, made America what she is today. One that doesn't shirk from the unknown. One that steams into the winds of the unknown with the belief that God is at the wheel and will lead us not only to a good catch today, but will provide for our families, and will reunite us all when Jesus comes again.