For my Salty Friends
By: Marco Bruzzi
Ahoy to all sailors!
I am aware that this might be an unpopular opinion and that people may disagree with it. However, I believe in what I am about to write, and it is, of course, just a personal opinion.
For some years now I have decided that I will no longer fish on my sailboat Bellerofonte. I believe that sailing is not just about partaking in the sport, but it is also about being in nature and respecting the environment around you. When I am alone on the boat, I feel part of a community. A community made of sun, waves, wind, and all of the living things that are there with and around me. Dolphins constantly visit me, turtles skeptically stick their little heads out to observe me, stingrays jump in and out of the swells, and thousands of fish use the ocean as their playground. When I sail, I feel part of this world. I feel as if I am a guest in their home; they are all those living organisms that populate the oceans.
For humans, fishing is a game. The fun part of it is the implicit assertion of superiority. It is a way of colonizing an environment in which we are guests. For the fish, the sea is their home. When caught, they suffer. We, the catchers of the game, do not feel the pain because fish don’t scream. They silently suffer while we play our game. If fish could scream, we would feel compassion and sorrow for them. To take a life is to take energy away from a planet that relies on a congruous balance. The only justification for this game is that it is necessary for our survival even though 99% of us no longer need this to survive.
Respecting the environment is also about respecting the living things that inhabit it. I am not trying to convince anyone of anything in particular. I am just here to share a personal change I have made that will perhaps make other sailors reflect upon the act of fishing.
At the end of the day, when I see the sunset and the silence of night falls, I think about how wonderful it was to spend a day sailing in the company of so many salty friends. To feel part of a community that respected me and I could respect back. In that moment of reflection, a feeling of happiness pervades my soul!