Aussie Lobster Man on why he quit his 9-5 to rock lobsters - ABC News
For anyone with a Deadliest Catch itch to scratch...
Welcome to the world of Aussie Lobster Men. We'd like to say it's exactly what it sounds like but the show is not, in fact, about Australian half-lobster-half-men hybrids.
The Discovery Channel series is actually about the lobster boat captains whose job it is to fish the world's most prized seafood delicacy. (In some territories the show is marketed with the more dramatic Giant Lobster Hunters).
At the moment, demand for lobster (giant or otherwise) is understandably low. Not many people are feeling particularly fancy at the moment and by sheer virtue of the lobster's life cycle, difficulty to farm and how dangerous they are to fish, they remain one of the fanciest of all the sea foods.
As prices are plummeting and exports from Tassie are down, Aussie lobster man, Bryce, says he and the other crews are all "sort of scratching our heads and twiddling our thumbs just waiting to see what happens."
The real rub of it, though, is that Bryce has only been lobster fishing for less than a year, having only recently decided to quit his 9-5 and get into the lobster game. Realistically, it's a decision that couldn't have come at a worse time.
Despite everything, he doesn't regret the choice and says his first season has been "quite a journey." So why did he make the choice in the first place?
"It's a funny one for me, because I really wanted to spend more time with my father."
To do that, Bryce says he realised he would have to go to him. And since his dad is a second generation commercial fisherman, that meant taking to the wide open ocean.
"I thought I'd join the family ranks and see how I went at it, and I'm learning it's a lot harder than I thought it was as a kid."
"It's challenging and very interesting." And is it dangerous? "Oh, absolutely. We only recently had a gentleman up the east coast pass away. Even if you think you're in a safe area little things can happen that can cause serious injuries."
"Simple things that we do 50-60 times a day, you stuff up on one of those and you can lose a finger or a hand or even worse.
Besides potentially losing a limb to the on-deck machinery, there's also the risk of being entangled, thrown overboard and drowned. Around the world, the job is considered amongst one of the most dangerous.
"When I was a kid I'd be laying in bed and hearing the wind howling over the house and I'd be worried about my dad, thinking what it'd be like out there… Then as I got older I got a bit more understanding about the weather.
"That's also what made me want to become a fisherman — that thrill — you're on the hunt for that weather as well. As much as you wanna avoid it, it is fun to be out there for the bigger stuff."
Despite the hard times in the industry right now, and not being able to make an income, Bryce is hopeful. "If we survive until the end of the year hopefully we can all get through this."
This period hasn't been bad for everyone, though. "It doesn't hurt the lobsters. We leave them in the water. It just means there's gonna be more for the future."
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