Fish, barbeque, and Germans

I went with Stephi to work today. She is doing biology research specifically about how tourist fishing affects the fish supply. This means that several times a week she heads out to popular tourist fishing spots and weighs and measures the fish. She invited me to go with her today because it was the last time that she was going to one of the islands this summer and thought I might like the scenery.

We took an hour and a half drive from Bergen across bridges and through tunnels to the island. In fact, we had to cross many other islands to finally get to the island she was working on. The area where the fisherman stayed was beautiful. There were about four houses right along the waters edge. We arrived around 11:40 so the fishermen were still out. Stephi and I grabbed a few deck chairs and relaxed. Around noon the fisherman started to come in. Stephi had to take measurements and remove the otoliths from the codfish. The otoliths are tiny pieces of bone that can be used to tell the fish’s age just like tree rings. I watched her once, but decided that was enough fish blood, guts, and smell for me. Instead, I read a book out on the deck.

All the tourists we talked to that day were German. This made Stephi’s job easy because she is from Germany. The tourists were very nice. A few even asked us over for a barbeque lunch. Stephi accepts all these invitations because it’s a good chance to learn more about the fishermen. We were served pork, German sausage, sautéed mushrooms, salad, and rolls. The food was fantastic. The conversation was in German, but I was able to catch a few things from context cues in addition to one of the men translating important facts for me. At around four, we decided that it was time to head back to the dorms. It had been a nice day in the sun with good food and company.

Tonight, Stephi, Lars, a few of their friends, and I are going to watch movies and play games. It is the last night that everyone will be in town. Tomorrow I will continue testing more subjects.

I am able to post pictures thanks to Chaz who sent me his camera cord along with other essentials including peanut butter M&Ms ;)

Skål, Allison

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