I first got into this work when my husband Ray went I as captain of a 100foot boat with Universal Fisheries in 1986. He was the first Canadian to fish the Virgin Rocks. He used to make two trips a week, and brought in about 120,000 pounds of cod each trip. When he'd land and the time came to settle up for the cheques, I'd pass in the declaration, the list of crew members, and the social insurance numbers. And when they'd get their cheques, if there were any mistakes the wives would call me. I'd have to go back to the company and have the problem corrected. I wasn't getting a salary, but I did it because it took a lot off of Ray.

And then we went into our own boat, a wooden 65-foot longliner. We formed our own company, Sea Voyager III Fisheries, and I took over running the business on shore. When Ray went on the water, I'd have a list. I would have to pick up webs and ropes and make sure there were enough nets made to replace those that were torn up each trip. Any ropes that were chafed had to be repaired and new rope put in. I did the bookkeeping and made sure the grocery order was filled.