Fishers

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Q 1.
	In your opinion, which fishery do the fishermen have the most unpleasant working conditions?
Q 2.
	Can you tell me how many different commercial fishermen there are in Florida, and how they get the fish from the sea to the consumer?
Q 3.
	How many people work in the fishing industry in Florida?
Q 4.
	Are there any colleges in the United States that offer curricula in commercial fishing?


_{-- a n s w e r s a b o u t F i s h e r s --}
	Q&A 1.	In your opinion, which fishery do the fishermen have the most unpleasant working conditions? Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
	Clearly there are several leading contenders for this honor. In general, working conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic are much worse than in the waters of the temperate or tropical areas. Several major fisheries are varied on in or near the Arctic or Antarctic Circle, for example, trawling by several European countries, great lining from Scotland, seal hunting off the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, and whaling chiefly in the Antarctic. Fishermen engaged in all these operations undergo considerable hardships. Probably one of the most rigorous fisheries of all is the Portuguese cod-fishery in the north Atlantic. Every spring a fleet of fishing boats sail from harbors in southern Portugal. Some of these boats are modern, but many have been taking part in this fishery for years and rely to a large extent on sail for propulsion. These vessels operate on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and on banks near Labrador and Greenland fishing almost continuously for about five months, before returning home. While on the fishing grounds they must be on the lookout for icebergs moving south. During much of the time on the grounds, dense fog is a serious hazard. The method of fishing is hand lining from dories. The dories are set by the mother ship usually either in a circle or in line. The lone fisherman in each dory sets lines rigged with baited hooks and hauls them up at periodic intervals, all the work being done by hand. When the dory is full of fish, usually after having been away from the mother ship for several hours, the fisherman must sail or row his heavily laden dory back to the mother ship. The fisherman now unloads his catch and is required to assist in cleaning and salting the fish and must bait his lines again before his day's work is over. It must be remembered that all these operations are being carried out often in freezing temperatures, in rough seas and perhaps in fog.
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	Q&A 2.	Can you tell me how many different commercial fishermen there are in Florida, and how they get the fish from the sea to the consumer? New York City, New York
	There are approximately 9,000 regular and 5,600 casual commercial marine fishermen in Florida. They use about 6,500 vessels ranging from small skiffs to vessels 100 feet in length. There are several different channels of distribution for the catch. Fishermen normally sell their production to about 400 dealers who in turn wholesale the bulk of the purchases to retailers and to other distributors. Some fishermen sell directly to the consumer and there are several other variations in the distributions.
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	Q&A 3.	How many people work in the fishing industry in Florida? Tallahassee, Florida
	There are approximately 15,000 regular and casual commercial fishermen in the state of Florida. The total number of persons engaged in the processing and the distribution of all marine products in not known.
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	Q&A 4.	Are there any colleges in the United States that offer curricula in commercial fishing? New York City, New York
	Curricula that cover fishing methods, as well as ship handling an equipment, are offered at the Academy for Commercial Fishermen, 5250 West Tyson Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33611;Bellingham Vocational-Technical Institute, 3028 Lindbergh, Bellingham, Washington 98225; Cape Fear Technical Institute, 411 North Front Street, Wilmington, North Carolina 28401; Clatsop Community College, 16th and Jerome, Astoria, Oregon 97103; Clover Park Education Center, 4500 Steilacoom Boulevard, S.W., Tacoma, Washington 98499; Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts 02532; University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881.
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	Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Library University of Miami, FL USA 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida 33149 Phone: 305 421 4060 Fax: 305 421 9306 E-mail: libcirc@rsmas.miami.edu		go to the top