WORKING WATERFRONT

I graduated from Michigan State University in 1980 with a degree in Biochemistry and went lobstering “just for the summer.” But it wasn’t long before I found myself 200 miles offshore doing the whole Captains Courageous thing. My Biochemistry degree and the prospect of working for the government, academia, or a pharmaceutical company (what was I thinking) washed overboard with the outgoing tide. I needed to get lost for a summer. Putting aside books and job interviews, I took a job working in the prettiest environment most people will never see. “Just for the summer” turned into the winter, the following summer, and another 5 years of working on offshore trawlers, including one of the New England “Highliners” fishing on Georges Bank out of Boston Harbor. When my full- time gig on the water ended, I spent another 35 years at fish auctions, fish and shellfish farms, fishery management meetings, processing plants, wharves, and waterfronts, from Stonington, Maine to Pt Judith, Rhode Island. Not to mention a lot of restaurant kitchens across half the country. I never had a concrete plan, preferring a life that offered a closer connection to nature, the freedom to live outside the 9-to-5 world, and pay scales that more closely matched my effort and success. True, in my chosen world, 12 hours is only a half-a-day (“You lazy bastid”), but the long hours, hard work, and the exercise of a sharp mind needed to succeed here leaves you with a satisfaction found by folks who love what they do. The decisions we make at each step cascade us into the next series of things. I made my way through ocean storms, nature’s fierce beauty, colorful characters, death threats, and close relationships with fishermen, fish and shellfish farmers, stakeholders at fishery meetings, chefs, and a host of others. My journey was also a culinary one. After all, the result of our collective efforts in this life is food. Tasty meals, life sustaining meals, healthy food, and it helps if you like eating the kind of food you produce. To that end, I made connections and friendships with some talented chefs who were always more than happy to learn all things seafood, could sniff out bullshit a mile away, and were genuinely excited to teach—if you only asked and then actually listened. Finally, my journey has also been a spiritual one, as is all life if you pay attention. My classroom in the school of enlightenment was also found here. (Yours is right in front of you wherever you are.) As for enlightenment, it’s a worthy step but also, I believe, overrated.