International Day of the Fisherman, June 29th is a day to honour the sacrifices and hard work of fishers and aquaculturalists worldwide. We are fortunate at Sydney Fish Market to do business with so many committed and hardworking men and women who have dedicated their lives to professional fishing. Without them, there’d be no seafood, and no Sydney Fish Market! 
To mark the day, we sat down with SFM’s resident Seafood Educator, Mike Huls to get an insight into what it’s like working as a fisher. While we keep him busy guiding tours these days, Mike has an incredible background working as a commercial fisherman all over the world!
So Mike, we managed to pull you away from fishing to work at SFM (lucky us!), tell us about your previous jobs as a fisher – where did you work and what species did you catch?
I have been lucky enough to work in a handful of different fisheries around the Pacific. I started my commercial fishing career gillnetting Sockeye Salmon in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. From there I jumped into the Hawaiian pelagic longline fleet, fishing for Tuna in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
I spent a couple of seasons on a boat where we fished for multiple species – starting with Dungeness Crab in Washington then moving the boat up to Alaska to longline pots for Black Cod and traditional gear for Halibut. I’ve worked a couple of random seasons on boats here and there, including an Albacore troller off the coast of Oregon and Tuna longliner off the coast of Cairns.
One of my favourite boats I worked on was the F/V Ginny C, it’s a traditional timber Halibut schooner built in 1947 and still in operation. We worked in some very remote regions of Southeast Alaska.
How/why did you get into fishing?
I guess you could say fishing was in my blood. My dad was obsessed and chased big Marlin all around the Sea of Cortez. I started fishing in Mexico from a very young age. I remember when I’d go visit my Grandparents in Peru, my Grandpa and I would fish every morning before breakfast. Then when I was in college, I had the opportunity to get into the commercial side of things, and I was totally hooked.
What is the best thing about being a fisher?
I loved being on the water and seeing all the bounty that the ocean produced. Fishing also allowed me to travel to some pretty remote places which I’m incredibly thankful for. And then after months of fishing, I could travel for a couple of weeks or months until the next season started. Thats when I’d go fishing for fun!
And the worst?
It’s incredibly tough work. It’s not just the Deadliest Catch guys that have it rough. Fishermen go through a lot of effort to not only catch good fish; but to make sure they stay at top quality for consumers.
What was the craziest thing you saw during your time out on the ocean?
On one of the boats I was working on we would be constantly followed by huge sperm whales. Historically, they follow long line boats in Alaska and pluck the fish from the lines. To combat this, many fishermen have switched to metal pots, but the whales still show up and make sure. We had large pods sleep next to the boat and when we would drift during the night you could hear their echolocation clicking through the hull of the boat.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about professional fishers?
I think there are a lot of people that feel that commercial fishers don’t care about the ocean, that they don’t care about sustainability. It’s just not true. Commercial fisherman care deeply about the oceans and the longevity of their industry. In the early days, it was the fishers who got scientists involved in studying fisheries to try and understand biomass. It’s because of the fishers that we have permits and quotas today.
How does your experience as a fisher lend to your role here at SFM?
My experience in the industry helps me daily here at SFM. I get to teach people about not just different types of fish, but share some of the stories of the people behind the seafood they see here in the building. I love talking about the fishers and their boats and the different styles of fishing, of the retailers and their unique specialties, and of the characters that make this place what it is.
What would you say to anyone who wants to get into fishing?
Go and do it! There seems to be a lot of boats out there looking for deckhands. It’s a great opportunity you’ll see and learn plenty of cool stuff along the way. I would be so happy to see more people in the next generation jump into the commercial sector.
You eat a LOT of fish. What are your favourite ones to eat?
Tuna, specifically Bigeye Tuna, is hands down my favorite fish to eat. But when I moved over here to Australia, I was exposed to many species I had not had before or were otherwise hard to find. I now find myself eating a lot of Swordfish and King Prawns and I love cooking up grilled Octopus in the summer.
Take a behind-the-scenes look at Sydney Fish Market with Mike as your guide. Book your tour now and see how Australia's Home of Seafood runs!