THE 1970s AND 1980s
Mornings Belong to the Fisherman
Mornings belong to the fisherman. Around nine or ten o’clock, they are already coming ashore with full boats. The dark water and the sky, which looks different every morning, belong to them—if only there were time to study it. We tend to add a lot of romance to these mornings in our thoughts. That the man leaves home at dawn, his wife, still warm from sleep, comes to the porch to see him off, embraces him, and gives him a sandwich and a large, large bottle of milk. That there is a cotton-thick fog on the shore, and posts, poles, and house roofs appear only from a few steps away; the night is warm and sweet-smelling, water laps gently under the shore, a corncrake calls in the distance, and a glimmer of a cigarette appears in the village. The men gather around the boat, everything is in order and ready, no need for long talk… the engine starts up and with a quiet popping, the boat disappears into the fog.
Surely it has been like that on a warm summer morning—whoever happened to remember it—but there are other mornings, those without romance. In the heat of work, there is no room for such thoughts. And even later, when the bow of the boat is turned toward the shore, and back muscles throb with a sweet pain and palms sting from splinters—even then, no one wants to calculate like that; there is only fatigue and the pleasure of work. In the soul and in the bones. Those at home are waiting—waiting for the fish and, above all, the fisherman himself.
Boat Building
Boats with the kolkhoz brand are in demand even outside the enterprise.
- Boat Workshop: Boat building in the boat workshop of the “Pärnu Kalur” fishing kolkhoz Audrurand department. Photo: R. Soodla, April 1986. EFA. 375.0.140916.
- Spring Boat Tarring: Standing is old fisherman Johannes Aus, in the background Jaan Poola, and at the pot is Ilmar Kaelep.
- At the Pot: Elmar Pent and standing is Elmar Merirand. Photo: Toomas Midenbritt’s photo collection.
How Do the Fishermen Live?
- Section: Karja.
1971 Fishing Plan Breakdown
Breakdown of the 1971 fishing plan of the Audrurand fishing kolkhoz by fish species (in centners):
- Total: 18,350
- Baltic Herring (Räim): 16,300
- Sprat (Kilu): 400
- Pikeperch (Koha): 110
- Vimba (Vimb): 250
- Perch (Ahven): 350
- Pike (Haug): 120
- Bream (Latikas): 300
- Eel (Angerjas): 20
- Smelt (Tint): 300
- Other fish: 200