Fishing with Daddy!
The title of this blog makes me smile for many reasons.
#1 — When I was 6 years old, my dad’s cousin (Lennie Gallant) wrote a song called “Fishing with Daddy” which landed us (me, dad and my brother Jamie) on Sesame Street. I thought that was pretty cool!
#2 — My dad lives for fishing. He’s been doing it for over 50 years and now I get to learn alongside him. Being able to enjoy his passion with him while building my own love for lobster fishing is an experience I never expected to have.
All smiles in this picture, despite it being a nasty weather day!
Feeling like a lucky girl to be fishing with my dad!
Becoming a commercial lobster fisher was never in my plan. In fact, I didn’t think I’d even be living in PEI at this point in my life. I moved to Calgary, Alberta in my early 20’s and expected to stay there. But life had other plans for me.
Not long after moving back to the island my brother and I bought our dad’s business, Joey’s Deep Sea Fishing. Through the ups and downs of a pandemic and multiple hurricanes I was able to put my experience to use to not only keep the business running but also change and grow it in new ways. I found a new love for the tourism industry and am proud to continue building the business that my dad put so much of his heart and soul into.
After some thought I had the idea that trying out lobster fishing would be a nice complement to running the deep sea fishing business. In 2022 I fished once a week on my brother’s boat to see what it’s like and if I thought I’d enjoy it. And then, in 2023 I fished on his boat full time: 6 days a week in May & June. Though it was a spring with some of the worst weather many of the local fisherman could remember, I enjoyed it and decided to stick to it.
Now, I find myself working on my dad’s boat, the “Julie Ann Jamie”. My dad turned 66 last week and while he’s be fishing for over 50 years (and hopefully will continue to do so for many more) I wanted to make sure I got the chance to work next to and learn directly from him. It’s incredible to think of the history and knowledge he holds and see that even after all these years on the water there is always something to be learned.
I’m working hard to master the many functions of lobster fishing and find that there is something to be learned everyday. I’ve always had a thirst for learning so this new venture is certainly hitting the mark for me. And the beautiful sunrises to start our day are a great perk to the job.
