I am a local in North America

Chapter 62 Fishing Port
Port of Anna Cortes.

Su Jierui arrived at the dock with ease.

As soon as he opened the car door, a biting wind hit him in the face. He sneezed, rubbed his nose, quickly buried his face in his thick wool scarf, and then deftly put on his gloves.

The wind was indeed strong today, like countless tiny ice blades, swirling up fine ice crystals and spray that scraped against exposed skin, bringing a slight stinging sensation.

In the distance, on the sea, you can see an old fishing boat, more than 20 meters long, slowly approaching its berth. The hull rises and falls gently with the waves, and the roar of the engine is intermittent in the wind.

On the deck, several fishermen, dressed in heavy waterproof suits, were braving the freezing cold, deftly scooping heavy catches from the live water tank filled with seawater, skillfully sorting flounder and Dungeness crabs into different plastic baskets.

On the edge of the pier.

Several seafood buyers, dressed in down jackets and rubber boots, had been waiting for a long time. They surrounded the fishing baskets piled up on the dock, shouting out prices. Their voices were distorted by the wind. Every now and then, they would reach out and examine the crabs in the baskets, pinching the crab legs to check their freshness.

Not far away, there were two fisheries inspectors wearing uniforms and warm hats.

They would randomly inspect the fishing baskets, squat down and peel back the surface of the seafood to check for any non-standard juvenile crabs or non-quota species in the lower layers. They would also use calipers to measure the width of the Dungeness crab's carapace from time to time to ensure that no one was cheated on the size.

Similar to the king crab producing areas in Alaska, almost no one dares to risk fines and the cancellation of their fishing quotas by bringing large quantities of seafood that is not included in the quota ashore. At most, they might keep some seafood of poor quality for themselves or give away.

now.

An elderly Black fisherman with deep wrinkles was laboriously dragging two baskets of seemingly lively Dungeness crabs to the side of the boat before dumping them all back into the cold seawater.

The crab traced an arc in mid-air before disappearing into the sea with a "plop" and "plop" and quickly vanishing from sight.

Seeing this, Arou clicked her tongue in distress and unconsciously wrapped her coat tighter around herself.
"It looks like Dungeness crabs are plentiful this year, so much so that they need to be dumped into the sea. How much are they worth...? They must have exceeded their quota."

Su Jierui, with his hands in his down jacket pockets, chuckled and said to Arou as if it were an amusing story:
"Rules are dead, people are alive."

"Look over there."

Su Jierui tilted his head slightly and gestured to Arou with his eyes, indicating that she should look at the several brand-new fishing boats moored by the dock:
"They're all David Downs' boats. He's a cousin of the head of the local fisheries management department, and he never dumps any extra seafood he catches back into the sea."

“I’ve heard Uncle Feng mention that his boat often secretly unloads cargo at Pier 3 late at night under the cover of darkness, selling geoduck clams, salmon, and Dungeness crabs. He must have some shady sales channels… We honest people can’t learn that.”

Arou followed his gaze and frowned slightly.

This is perfectly normal in the area. Some fishing boats always inexplicably have a much larger catch quota than other fishing boats, and anyone with eyes can see what's going on.

From childhood to adulthood, her parents had often complained and discussed this topic at home. Arou was used to it; she was more concerned about her own family's affairs and only asked:

"It's Dungeness crab fishing season again. My parents were delayed before, and I don't know if they'll make it back in time..."

In Washington state, USA.

The Dungeness crab fishing season begins on December 1st each year and ends on September 15th of the following year.

From December to February of the following year, on the one hand, the market demand is strong due to the approach of Christmas and New Year, and on the other hand, Dungeness crabs are in the "hard shell" period after molting, with plump meat and the best taste. Therefore, the prices offered by buyers are much higher than in the off-season in the middle of the year.

Once the golden window of opportunity of more than two months is missed, even if fishing can continue later, the profits will be greatly reduced, which will directly affect the income of the two fishing boats, Fuyou and Moonfish.

Furthermore, from December to February of the following year, Dungeness crabs on the seabed become more active due to molting and like to gather in groups. If you miss this period of gathering, it will be more difficult to catch them in large quantities.

Similar to the king crab quota, there is also an annual cap on the Dungeness crab catch. Seeing other fishing boats returning with full loads, having already caught enough, Ah-rou was worried about her parents and couldn't help but feel anxious.

Back when they were fishing for king crabs in the Bering Sea, Su Jerry had talked to his parents about Dungeness crabs, and now he explained to his sister:
"Don't worry, Uncle Zheng and his men rushed back this time probably to make sure they don't miss the prime time for Dungeness crab fishing. If a boat catches its full quota, it can earn forty or fifty thousand US dollars, which is no worse than fishing in the open ocean."

"There should still be enough time, after all, the peak season has only just begun for a little over a month. If it really doesn't work out, I'll just fill in for a couple of days. Luckily, the Fuyou and Moonfish are both back. I helped my parents catch Dungeness crabs last year, so I'm familiar with the process. I can just find two trustworthy drivers and a few experienced fishermen to help out."

"If we're really too busy, we can ask Grandpa to help. He's spent half his life at sea, so his experience is invaluable. But he's getting on in years, and accidents can easily happen on a ship with its rocking and rolling. Unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to bother him..."

Just then, a cold hand suddenly reached for the back of Su Jierui's neck.

Su Jierui shuddered, his neck jerked back, and he quickly took a few steps forward. When he turned around, he realized it was his friend Tang Jie.

Tang Jie appeared to have just come ashore; his hair was disheveled by the wind, he smelled of fish, and his purplish lips were dry with a layer of white, wrinkled skin.

Doing manual labor year-round, one ultimately lacks the glamorous lifestyle of white-collar or high-level executives. Tang Jie, with a broad smile, asked:
"Are your parents coming back? Why are you two at the dock at this hour? I saw your car on the roadside earlier and thought it was the same model. My family just finished working on the boat, unloading several baskets of Pacific halibut, rock flounder, and sand flounder. I didn't even have time for lunch. I'm exhausted."

Su Jierui looked at Tang Jie's expression and said speechlessly:
"Working like crazy during the day, then spending all your money at bars at night, is it really worth it? Go drink some warm water and warm yourself up. The sea wind is so strong, don't you know how to cover yourself up properly?"

“My parents won’t be back for a few more days. Uncle Zheng and his family rented my boat to go fishing in the open ocean. They’ll be at the dock soon, and I’ll come to pick up the cargo.”

"Perfect timing, you can stay here and help out. I've been away for months, and I have no idea what the recent purchase prices at the docks are..."

Everyone's been quite busy. Su Jierui has been back for a few days, but he's only seen Tang Jie once.

Tang Jie happened to have nothing to do and was curious to see what he could make on the open sea, so he readily replied:
"Okay, then I'll go find my dad and ask him to drive home by himself later. I'll ride with you guys. Also, don't slander me in front of Arou. When did I ever go to bars all the time?"

Su Jierui didn't hold back, laughing as she lightly nudged him with her elbow:
"Tch, the other day at the party, every girl selling drinks there came over to say hello to you..."

As for Arou, all I can say is that during Tang Jie's adolescence, he did have a tiny bit of a crush on her, but later he realized that the way she looked at him... was like she was looking at some kind of idiot...

That unrealistic idea was quickly put to rest.

Tang Jie was completely unfazed by Su Jierui's blunt criticism. He simply rubbed his nose, which was red from the cold, and continued to ask:
"Arui, what have you been busy with these past few days? You said you'd treat me to dinner last time we drank together, and I've been waiting for your call for two or three days now. Where's the dinner?"

Su Jierui mumbled:

"I'll invite you all together in a while. After living in the wilderness for so many days, I'm almost going crazy. I haven't fully recovered yet. Let me rest first."

Tang Jie thought that the so-called "inviting together" meant waiting until everyone was on holiday and free.

What Su Jerry was referring to was that after successfully buying the beaver ranch, he would then bring his friends to celebrate.

It was too cold outside, and it wasn't much warmer inside the car either. The air conditioning was barely effective at heating, but at least it offered some shelter from the wind.

Tang Jie and Su Jierui chatted about all sorts of things, from "Why did the girl delete me as a friend after our blind date?" to "I'm currently looking for a suitable fishing boat online," rambling on and on.

When talking about buying his own fishing boat, Tang Jie became energetic, rubbing his frozen hands and breathing out white mist as he said:
"Didn't we say we wanted to buy a boat? I've been browsing online a lot these past few days, but it's not easy to find a suitable one!"

“Old ships have many problems, and repairs are a bottomless pit, while new ships are ridiculously expensive. The key is to find out about their fishing history and quota situation.”

“Some ships look good, but their quotas might have been frozen or reduced due to the original owner’s violations. They’re just empty shells after you buy them, and you end up wasting your money…”

talking.

Tang Jie took out his phone; the screen was a little sluggish in the low temperature. He swiped a few times to browse his saved pages:
“I have my eye on two boats. One is a 52-foot (15.8-meter) fiberglass trawler. The boat is in decent condition, but it has a very low quota for Dungeness crabs. It mainly relies on seasonal fishing for halibut, salmon, and some shrimp.”

"The other one is a bit old, it's an old wooden-hulled boat, but it has a relatively large quota of bottom-dwelling fish and Dungeness crabs. I just don't know if it can survive the next ship inspection. We'll have to see it in person to know."

"Sigh, I begged and pleaded with my dad, but he was only willing to give me a small amount of money, and I have to take out a loan from the bank for the rest. He even said he gave me all his retirement money, and I'll probably have to sleep on the streets and fight for space with homeless people in the future. Am I that unreliable? I've lost over ten pounds since I started working on the ship..."

Arou listened to their chatter and dozed off for a while in the cramped back row, though she wasn't sure if she actually fell asleep.

Until it gradually got dark.

A small black dot finally appeared on the distant horizon, followed by a second one.

As the black dots grew larger, the outlines of two medium-sized fishing boats slowly became clearer, cutting through the gray waves and heading straight for Anacortes port.

Upon seeing them, Su Jierui got out of the car, squinted, and carefully examined the paint scheme and flags on the boats.

"It's the Fuyou and the Moonfish! Uncle Zheng and the others are back!"

Seeing that Arou directly opened the camera function on her phone, zoomed in and took a closer look, Tang Jie gave her a thumbs up in admiration and praised, "No wonder your sister was able to get into MIT, her brain is just better than ours."

Su Jerry, caught in the crossfire:

"...You talk too much."

……

(End of this chapter)