Abstract

Fishers often describe fishing as a religion. If religion is defined as meaning making, then fishing makes meaning through their connection with the aquatic environment, through the ritual and sometimes difficult work of catching fish and through the relationship with the fish itself. In contrast, recreational fishers enjoy being in the outdoors and delight in the challenge of taking a fish home for dinner; fly fishers treat their sport with a passion bordering on divine reverence; while commercial fishers relish their connection with the ocean and the intricate skills that go with negotiating a catch in the midst of uncertainty –the weather, the ocean's power, the risks they take, their ability to locate the fish and the increasing vulnerability of the fishing industry. This paper explores the social and spiritual dimensions of fishing, as a leisure activity and profession and asks the question: What happens to the soul of the commercial fisher particularly, to their social and spiritual capital, in an era of declining fisheries resources? The answer, in part, is found in the spirit of resilience.