by DB Kooper

Created on: December 04, 2008

One of the most hazardous jobs in the world is commercial fishing. Much has been written from a statistical point of view and some from actual experience. From the east coast of New Jersey, they head out nearly 8 hours to a fishing grounds called the Hudson Canyon. The Hudson is a 400 nautical mile underwater canyon that extends from the mouth of the Hudson river across the Continental Shelf ending in deep ocean. Imagine the Grand Canyon under the ocean, this is on that scale. It is an abundant source of many species but commercial fishermen out of New Jersey and the fleets of the northeast go there for to "longline" for tile in the winter and hunt for Bigeye Tuna in the spring/summer.

My brother Bill used to fish these waters year round aboard boats based at Barnegat Light, New Jersey. About 15 years ago I went on a trip with the crew of one of the smaller boats there called the "Gipper"and at times it was one of the most nerve racking and scariest experiences of my life. I'll get into that in a bit.

There is a lighthouse there called "Ole Barny" that guides the boats coming into Barnegat Bay at night. The commercial fishing fleet there has lost boats at sea and every one knows the dangers even the most experienced fishermen face as they try to provide a living for thier families. It is a tight-knit community and every spring like other ports there is a "Blessing of the Fleet" ceremony as the boats pass by and are blessed one by one by local clergy. Not surprisingly I have found some of these fishermen to be a bit superstitious.
So what is so dangerous about commercial fishing? Well for starters there are no hospitals 8 hours out by boat. If one were to require serious medical attention it could be fatal as the situation would require an evacuation by a Coast Guard helicopter or boat and they don't routinely patrol that far out. As the captain of the Gipper, "Greenie", pointed at the low steel doorway leading out to the wheelhouse onto the back deck he said, "always watch yourself coming out that door,if you get a bad head injury the Coast Guard is too far away to help." My brother sliced his hand open on a run for Swordfish one summer.They were out near the Grand Banks,far from land.He was bleeding from a deep cut but rather than go back in he stiched the wound himself with an emergency kit on board.
The back deck of a commercial fishing vessel is a very dangerous place. With so many things that can go wrong survival depends on an acute awareness of your surroundings

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