Fróðskaparrit - 01.07.2004, Side 12

10
TO FISH OR NOT TO FISH. THE MEANING OF FISH AND FISHERIES
AMONG YOUNG PEOPLEIN THE FAROE ISLANDS
free to choose several options, most of
them selecting at least three, ‘fishing’
scored zero. At another lower secondary
school in the Faroese capital I gave two 9lh
grade classes identical questions about
leisure: three out of 27 pupils had ‘fishing’
as leisure-time activity.
In the ‘old days’ every Faroese man
wanted to own his own boat for leisure and
part-time work, because of the sense of
freedom to move and fish that this gave
him; an old Faroese saying runs as follows,
‘tied down is the boatless man’. The 8th
grade class was also given the following
question to answer: Do you think that you
will buy yourself a car, boat or summer-
house when adult? Everyone expected to
become a car-owner, quite many also sum-
merhouse-owners, but only two boys imag-
ined that they were going to possess boats;
five others, though, answered ‘maybe a
boat’.
I gathered, through individual interviews
and open conversations in this school class,
informations about the pupils’ relation to
the fisheries among other subjects. One of
the boys told me that he was probably go-
ing to spend the summer on a fishing vessel
together with his father, who was a sailor;
two pupils had brothers who were sailors; a
girl’s father was an engineer on a fishing
vessel; and two boys wanted themselves to
make a working career in the fisheries - at
least for a couple of years. One of them (Pe-
ter), playing guitar in a rock band, told me
that his dream was to become a profession-
al musician, but he didn’t expect the dream
to come true, therefore he bet on a career in
the fisheries:
Peter: I would like to become an engineer
[on fishing vessels, FG], and then work on
fishing vessels for two years, then go back
home, and then become a carpenter or
something like that...or continue to work as
an engineer or something like that.
FG: But why not more than two years [on a
fishing vessel]?
Peter: Because it becomes a bit boring after
some time...maybe longer, I really don’t
know, it is just a...
FG: You think thatyou are going to become
tired ofit?
Peter: Yes, people often get tired of it,
yes...sitting in the ‘engine-room’ at the bot-
tom of the ship...so I don’t know, maybe if
I am going to like it very much...maybe I
am going to be there for a longer time...
FG: Yes
Peter: But I can also use the education as an
engineer here.
[...]
FG: Are there others sailing in yourfami-
ly?
Peter: Yes, not right now, but there have
been some...my uncle is a skipper, and his
son was sometimes with him, and then it
was also...grandfather was a sailor...it was
mostly in my mother’s family that people
were sailing...and there was someone...
FG: What kind offishing vessel would you
like to work on?
Peter: It should be one where you...where
you gain big money, ha?
This Tórshavn boy has a plan, not aiming at
any very special high status occupation,
which is the result of reflexive considera-
tions about his future and way of life. He