Commercial Fishing

[Red_Dawn]

What were people fishing for commercially in the Caribbean? Was it just fish, or were other edibles like squids or crabs fished for, too? How did they catch them? Did the fishermen generally own their boats, or were they usually hired by the boat owner? Did they sell directly to the fishmongers or through middlemen? Anything else I might need to know?

Thanks!

[capn'rob]

You may need to be more specific regarding the era and locale for the particular catch and method of fishing. Fishing Conch on the Bahama Banks would be so different than fishing around an island that's a younger volcanic peak such as St. Martin. Over the last five centuries the style of fishing has changed quite a bit as well.

[Red_Dawn]

You may need to be more specific regarding the era and locale for the particular catch and method of fishing.

*insert forehead-slapping smilie here* Sorry about that. The time would be roughly late 17th Century to about 1710. The location is around Jamaica and Haiti.

Fishing Conch on the Bahama Banks would be so different than fishing around an island that's a younger volcanic peak such as St. Martin.

Ah, so there's conch fishing in the Bahamas. That'd be fun, having my characters capture a boatload of snails!

[capn'rob]

The Conch Fishery in the Caribbean was Pre-Columbian. The Conch Shell Horns were used for religious ceremony and pieces of shell were used for jewelry. In archeological digs pieces of Conch Shell were found that appeared to be used as scraping tools for canoe making and bowls and such.

The major fishery that I'm aware of that was in commercial trade was Salt Cod. I have seen the Salt Works on a few of the Caribbean Islands and know that the production was for export. Salt is the oldest form of food preservation. It is believed that in the 15th Century Europeans were fishing Cod off the Banks of northern North America. The Cod was "Split", salted and dried. Once it was preserved it was marketable thruough out the "modern" world. The commercial operation of salt production was as labor intensive as the other products, sugar cane, coffee and fruits. As the plantations did, the Saltworks used slave labor for the process. As bad as the Salt Mines of Russia were, the Miners were paid something!

I believe that the majority of fishing in the 17th Century in the Caribbean would have been subsistance or for sale from the fisherman to his local community. That's my two cents. My Commercial Fishing experience was in the 1980's in New England. It was near shore, on shore and in a Great Salt Pond.

[Red_Dawn]

Thank, capn'rob!

I believe that the majority of fishing in the 17th Century in the Caribbean would have been subsistance or for sale from the fisherman to his local community.

This is more or less the size of business I had in mind, though the info on the salt cod industry might come in handy some other time.

Would the local fishermen fish for anything specific, or would they just cast their nets and sell whatever was edible?

The Conch Fishery in the Caribbean was Pre-Columbian. The Conch Shell Horns were used for religious ceremony and pieces of shell were used for jewelry. In archeological digs pieces of Conch Shell were found that appeared to be used as scraping tools for canoe making and bowls and such.

Does that mean it was just a native thing at the time? There goes my idea in post #3. As for conches as jewelry, I've read they make some lovely pearls.