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local Thursday 13 april 2023

History of fishing in Aruba

ORANJESTAD — Fishing has been a the head quarter and remains the
family tradition for ages in Aruba. fishermen’s settlement. Savaneta,
Our ancestors used to fish for a liv- Noord, Santa Cruz all had their fish-
ing. Even though nowadays you ermen’s villages. At a rough esti-
don’t see them often we still have mate there were about a hundred
some passionate fishermen on small fishing boats during that time.
the island that go out every day in The Arubans were mainly engaged
search for fish to feed their families in coastal fishing, using rowing-
and serve our local market. One of boats or small sailing-boats, and
these fisherman is Gregory Wernet. lines or dragnets and canisters in
shallow water. When fishing with
The so-called Continental Bank deep-sea lines just over the bot-
between Aruba and the opposite tom of the sea the boat is kept in
coast reaches a depth of about place by means of a piece of rock
650 feet. The sea is very rich in serving as an anchor. The two most
fish here. Since the time of the in- important species of fish by far
digenous native people fish and caught in this manner are the par-
other sea creatures such as turtles, go or red snappers and a variety
octopus squids, conch and many of groupers like the mero, jeanpao
type of crustaceans have formed and the wowo di boyo.
a means of subsistence for the na- families and some are being sold in there listening to the sound of the
tive Aruban inhabitants. Especially Cruising off the coast the Aruban the market to local restaurants. waves and enjoying the marvelous
along the west coast of the island fisherman patiently waits for a view that nature has to offer is all
where the fishing grounds are set- fish willing to snap at the bait on Fisherman Gregory Wernet worth it.
tlements of fishermen. Until the ar- the drag-line, in nets and traps. Gregory Wernet is a well-known
rival of the oil -industry Aruban fish- Veritable giants are sometimes fisherman from Santa Cruz. His fa- Source: Etnia Nativa
ermen could supply Aruba’s wants. caught. Barracudas weigh from 9 ther taught him fishing when he
to 44 pounds and measure from 3 was a small child. Gregory has two
As a source of income, however, to almost 7 feet. The king-fish has a sons, Jordan and Jordanny, which
fishing did not amount too much. weight from 22 to 44 pounds; the he taught fishing too, when they
In the beginning of the 1900’s ap- moclat may tip the scales at 155, were only 3 years old and he takes
proximately 160 people earn their whilst garfish, having a length of them fishing with him. Fishing has
living in this branch of this industry. nine feet, weigh over 132 pounds. been a family tradition for quite a
Rancho, which stands for a shed, Most fish caught is used for their long time and even his grandson
nowadays east Oranjestad, was own consumption, to feed their Willvion of 7 years old is following
his grandfather steps. This is the
sixth generation of fishermen in
their family.
They go deep sea fishing. There
they catch red snapper, grouper
and amberjack. They usually fish for
15 hours a day, but now due to the
covid-19 measurements they go
fishing from 5 in the morning until 8
o’clock at night or even sometimes
from 8 at night till 5 in the morn-
ing. The day before they prepare
all their fishing tools such as the
Lines, lures, spears, and load their
boat with fishing reels, batteries, fill
the gasoline tank, lights and some
food and beverages. For bait he
uses sardines, squid and the small
fish known in Aruba as piskechi. The
have two boats they use for fishing.
‘Virgen del Valle’ which is parked
at the pier by the Seaport and ‘Pa-
drot’ which they have at home.

The fish they catch they take home
to their families and they also sell it
to their clients. Gregory is proud to
be a fisherman. It is a honest and
humble job but with it he is able to
feed his family even during hard
times. It is a very dangerous job and
you have to spend many hours on
the sea, waiting patiently and risk-
ing your life while fighting a big fish
and big waves but the adrenaline
it brings with it but also just sitting