Hobart Bay Fishery

On Wednesday evening we were just sitting down to dinner, when we got a call saying the fishery was going on 2 hour notice tomorrow. (Two hour notice just means that fishery could start in two hours, and you should be within 2 hours distance of the fishing grounds). We had been planning on going on the fishery, but had thought it wouldn't start for a few more days and that we had plenty of time... So we were all thrown into a panic about packing and getting the boat ready. It is a 24 hour boat ride from town to Hobart Bay, so basically, as Dad said it, "We leave two hours ago."

Well, the boss called us again a little later and said that even if we left right now, we wouldn't make it in time for the fishery (if it did start tomorrow) anyway. So he said to plan on leaving the next morning. This was a big relief to everyone, giving us a little more time to get ready! (Pictured: Carrie steering the boat in the wheel house)

We got to Hobart Bay just an hour after the fishery started on Friday morning. (It didn't matter so much that we were "late" because it usually takes a while for the fisherman to set their nets and get a good catch before they deliver the fish to our boat.) In this picture, the small fishing boats are setting their nets. You can see the flocks of seagulls above them, looking for a chance to snag a fish.

The funny thing about fishing is all the rush, and then the waiting! We rushed up to the fishing grounds so we could wait around to get fish on board...

No, we did not edit this picture on the computer, this is straight from Carrie's camera. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on Friday evening!

John, sitting out on deck enjoying the view. It's evenings like these when we go, "Oh yeah, now I remember why we came!"

...they're still fishing... and we're still waiting...

Action time! It was a long night... About 9:00 on Friday evening we had our first fishing boat pull alongside us and we started pumping the fish on board. We were pumping fish from fishing boats non stop from 9:00 Friday evening until 5:30 the next morning. As soon as one fishing boat finished pumping their fish on board, another one took its place. Boat after boat... they just kept coming! In this picture, Dad is standing next to the weigh box. When the fish are pumped on board, they go into the weigh box where they are weighed, and then dumped into the fish tank.

Dad worked the crane that lifted the suction hoses on and off the fishing boats, Paul ran the fish pump, Carrie steadied the weigh box and did other odd jobs out on deck, and I wrote out the fish tickets (the paperwork). Notice Paul isn't smiling in this picture... I don't think any of us were smiling. This was probably taken around 2:30 in the morning...?!

...You knew this picture was coming, right? This was, after all, the purpose of this fishing thing. It was an amazingly fast fishery! We left on Thursday, and we were back in town on Sunday morning to unload the fish at Phillip's Cold Storage! It was a good trip... work... but good.