The Fishing

Fishing has, of course, always been of great importance to the inhabitants of Tamba- Tamba.
When HMS Dreadful left the island the settlers retained (after what Cock described as 'much heated bargaining') the ship's jolly boat, and this was the principal craft of the island until it was damaged during the bombardment.
Berry, the ship's carpenter was soon engaged in the construction of other boats modelled on the jolly boat.
Other mutineers (Hooper, Rowley and Stock) had experience of fishing, and this was put to good use.
Fish commonly caught in the waters off Tamba- Tamba include Cod, Hargreaves Skate, Gurnard, Toppimuri, Slingfish, Hargreaves Bristleback and Southern Ocean Bass.
Pair trawling between two small boats remains the most common practice, although Orlando Hooper was running a sophisticated modern trawler, The Gannet, brought from Rhode Island as early as 1952.

Gannet II

Interestingly an English visitor to the island in 1955 noted that a type of coelacanth were regularly landed by Tamba- Tamba boats and were considered commonplace by the locals.

Coelacanth photographed at Hooper's Point in 1955 by Archibald Mackenzie- Smith.