You and the future of fishing
A VIEWPOINT BY NORTH AMERICA ’ S ONLY BLIND PROFESSIONAL ANGLER
LAWRENCE GUNTHER
As with many of us here at Fish , Hunt and Ride , my attachment to fishing began with my father and brothers as we captured and ate all we caught . Even after I was declared legally blind , I pursued this passion , and by my early 20s I was fishing commercially for Atlantic cod aboard wooden dories along the coast of Cape Breton Island .
It was an idyllic and highly lucrative way to spend the warmer months .
Hand-lining for cod lasted for about as long as it took me to fill my large university student ’ s head with books , lectures and research . Not all those post-secondary years were spent sitting at tiny student desks though . Whenever possible I ventured out for field research , including a stint in Alberta climbing mountains , living in the North West Territories among Inuit and Dena people , and a year in northern Sweden to lecture and do my master ’ s thesis research .
After graduating , I got into competitive fishing , and have well over 100 competitions under my PFD , a half dozen or so wins and a bunch of top-10 finishes . I still fish the odd competitive event , including bass , walleye , muskie , salmon and multi-species tournaments scheduled for 2016 . But more and more I ’ m returning to my roots as a recreational angler .
When my remaining vision blinked out in my 40s , I amalgamated an assortment of talking and audible electronics and pieced together a small electric boat . It restored my ability to fish independently and I became known as the inventor of the world ’ s first fishing boat for the blind . Not a self-driving boat , but pretty darn close .
Whether fishing for food , money or fun , vision loss has never been a huge impediment . In fact , I apply visualization skills both above and below the water . The ability to remain focused without visual distraction , and my reliance on a sense of touch has helped me figure out what ’ s taking place down below . SCUBA certification confirmed what I had been feeling through that always useful telescopic sensor – a fishing rod and line .
I ’ m part of the majority of Canadians who grew up fishing . Nineteen million others who got onto it later in life have fished and may very likely fish again , according to a 2012 study based on annual fishing licence sales – more people than play baseball and golf combined . Even though the glamour of tournament and commercial fishing now dominates what we read and watch , approximately 95 per cent of those who fish do so recreationally . Many still keep fish for the table , but more than half are now released alive .
Recreational anglers are a huge majority , but a silent one . We are the people who avoid environmentalists for fear of being judged , and are often overlooked by the tackle and marine industries who pay more attention to professional tournament anglers because , hey , everyone likes to back a winner . That ’ s all fine , and many ordinary anglers prefer it this way , but it doesn ’ t answer the question , where can we get good information about fishing sustainably ?
32 | FISH , HUNT RIDE www . fishhuntandride . ca