Between the Fishing Lines
Examining San Diego’s fishing industry, through the eyes of a local fisherman
By Natalia Romero
By Natalia Romero
The fishing wire sliced Tommy's brother in half, killing him instantly. As survival mode kicked in, Tommy couldn't do anything more than push the death of his brother into the back of his mind. He had other things to worry about, like the fate of his fishing boat and crew that were caught in the middle of a treacherous storm.
America’s fishing industry, too, is caught in the middle of a treacherous storm. Fifty years ago, America was something of a “promised land,” a place where people wanted to be. It was a time when the fishing industry was booming. The American fisherman was something of an icon as it was a respected, thriving profession. It was a job deeply rooted in tradition and the simple joy of fishing for a living. Now, due to the dwindling populations of marine life, it is a changing — and arguably a dying — lifestyle. The average American consumer might not understand the gravity of the current state of our oceans and seafood. Fish still make it to market, and to our dinner plate, and it all seems so easy. But the American fisherman, like our fisheries, are populations that are decreasing at an exponential rate. I decided to dig into this profession more, and I found that San Diego was once one of the most recognized coasts in the world — every country knew about our thriving coastline, and about our fisheries. Tommy Gomes is a fisherman native to San Diego; a profession that has been in his family for the last 130 years. Tommy works at Catalina Offshore Products, a sushi grade fish market. When I visited, I didn't know what to expect from the market or Tommy himself. The market is located in the most remote place of Linda Vista where there was nothing but storage units and furniture factories. I had started to question myself if I was even in the right place because in my mind this was no normal setting for a fish market. You’d think it would be close to a body of water, but this place was nowhere near it. It became more familiar once I smelled an ocean-like scent. Inside the facility was not what I expected it to be. There were endless pictures of fishes, fisherman, and previously owned boats. There was a corner specifically for cooking — probably for cooking classes of some sort — which was followed by a wall that was accompanied with about eight spice shelves. They were overflowing with every spice and flavoring that a person could cook with. Across from this corner there was a showcase of whole fish and lobster on ice. The bulgy-eyed fish looked very fresh and didn’t have a fishy aroma. The fish’s mouths, hanging open, plus the bulgy eyes gave them a scary appearance. As I started to study the other fish, I was called over to speak with Tommy. He was a tall, well-built man, wearing a black button down shirt with an embroidered “Tommy” in red cursive. When I was seated he instantly wanted to get right down to business. His hurry gave me the impression he was a busy man and could be on a tight schedule. We talked and ranted about different issues, such as the acidification of the ocean. Ocean acidification is a deadly process. Humans release alarming amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, and have been doing so since the Industrial Revolution. The ocean absorbs up to 22 million tons of CO2 every day. As a result, the ocean is about 30% more acidic than it was only 20 years ago. So how does this affect the fishing industry? Tommy explained to me that ocean acidification makes shellfish, like oysters and clams, not able to produce calcium carbonate, a component vital to building their shell. The acidic water also dissolves their shells. If shellfish can’t survive to reproduce, we can't fish them. If we can’t fish them, fisherman like Tommy are out of a job, and we consumers are out of a meal. Ocean acidification also contributes to a vastly dying marine ecosystem. We’ve seen this before; we’ve had mass extinctions in marine ecosystems when the separation of Pangaea began. Scientists say this because about 252 million years ago, an enormous amount of CO2 and methane were released into the atmosphere, collapsing many ecosystems. Geologists called this mass extinction “The Great Dying,” because 96% of marine species went extinct. If ocean acidification continues at it’s current rate, this is likely to occur again. Ocean acidification can lead to unhealthy fish, and an increase in parasitic tumors. Changing ocean conditions are also harmful to the wild-caught fishing industry itself, and therefore more fishing farms could result. Fishing farms are often not environmentally sustainable, and produce a lot of waste. Tommy and I also talked about the shark finning industry, and the controversy surrounding it. Although it is illegal to consume shark fin soup, Tommy admitted he had a can, and that he had both made and eaten the soup. I asked Tommy if he knew about the supposed “health benefits,” and surprisingly, he didn't know. Since the rise of this industry, up to 100 million sharks have been killed for their fins, and an estimated 73 million of those shark’s fins were used for shark fin soup. In China, shark fin soup originated purely for symbolizing social status and generosity, and was most commonly served at wedding dinner tables. I mentioned that there has been a recent production of faux shark fin whose taste and texture is just like the real thing. This is very influential in the industry since many species of the shark that are finned are also considered endangered. Then he had begun entertaining the idea of how the fishing industry has grown way to big, way too fast. He felt the culture quickly transform into an industry where all people care about is money. “We aren’t a nation of producers anymore. We want everything right now, with no delay.” As he said this he sounded very disappointed.
“The tradition isn’t even there anymore; the simple joy of [fishing] has died. We aren’t hunter-gatherers anymore; we harvest these fish. We harvest them like they are crops, and we leave the waters devastated.” Tommy stated that we weren't the only culprits to leaving the waters devastated. We have regulations in California, so we are probably doing the least amount of damage to the waters. China, France, and Korea have little to no regulation of fishing, but they have one of the world’s largest black market for fishing. Tommy also compared the human race to a virus. “You see, we have become this sort of virus; and what is the only way to kill a virus? To kill its host. The human race is a virus, mother earth is the host, and we are killing her.” There was a moment of silence in the room after that. If you really take a step back to think about it, Tommy had a very strong point. Global economic pressures are killing the profession of the American fisherman. We haven't shown that we still respect the ocean like we used to. As the years passed, fishermen were forced to work harder and harder, to harvest more and more seafood, to pay their bills. But there still remain people like Tommy, people who are trying to weather this treacherous storm, who understand that the ocean is a fragile ecosystem without infinite resources. Tommy mentioned that being a commercial fisherman is a hard life, both on the body and the soul. As I proceeded to ask why, he said that all the things they show on TV—like when fishing boats get caught in storms—actually happen. Before I could even process this, he began to list the death of his brother he had seen with his own eyes. “Oh yeah, I saw my brother get sliced in half by the fishing wire.” Hearing this, I could not fathom why someone would stay in a profession with such tragedy. Between a ocean drained of life and a family torn apart, I wondered how anyone could withstand both pains. So I asked Tommy how he did it, why he never left. “I never knew anything else,” was his only reply. |