Vielo. Chief Skipper with the Fishermen Guild and Wise of the Sea.

 

  • I’ve been a fisherman for 35 years, plus 7 as an apprentice. This profession you have to live it from childhood to get to love it. It is hard work, but love and thrill for your work is the key to keep going for ever.
  • When I was 14 I would go out fishing and I got dizzy, had a hard time, puke… But I would come back every day!!! Once your body gets used to the motion and the sea you don’t get sick anymore, even when the sea wears you out. Your balance works at its best so you would run from side to side of the boat, and you don’t fall down nor feel that everything is in motion.
  • In my opinion one of the most important problems of the sector in the Canaries is the commercialization and this is where the authorities should get involved and encourage the consumption of quality fresh fish, because even when it is more expensive it is healthier.In my boat of 12.40 metres of length we work two persons: my son and I. It is a family business and it makes me feel proud that my son is taking over. Nowadays it is already him taking the lead either in the sea or onshore.
  • It is true that in most cases when father and son work together in the sea, things don’t really work out well; but in our case it is not like this. We have already been working together for one year on our own now, and we get on very well. I know my son is perfectly capable, so I fully trust his work and his decisions. We both hold the same high grade of responsibility in what we do and in my 35 years of experience I had never felt like this working with anyone.
  • The worst thing about the sea is finding a corpse. I remember once when some fellow fishermen called from their vessel reporting their finding one. We reported to the Marine Rescue Service and the boat had to take care of the corpse in the sea for four hours, until the rescue got to the spot.
  • On the contrary, the most joyful and exciting experience I remember was one night in the harbour, by serendipity and in the dark we discovered a couple that had fallen into the sea and they were drowning. We run and got on time to rescue them alive, and once in the Hospital when they were in good care I stopped and thought about what we had just done. I felt I was fainting: we had saved two lives!!