The "Faces of Strangers: #52" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting in a lounge chair under a yellow umbrella on Orient Beach in French St. Martin enjoying my Stuart Woods novel when Carol taps me and says, "Look at that guy fishing with the net."  It drew my instant attention and after a minute or two of watching the guy fishing, I just had to grab my iPhone and head to the shoreline to see what he was catching.  A few others had already gathered to watch the same thing that I wanted to take photographs of to post as a story for my blog.  

Alex hurrying back with a net full of sprat.

I stood a few feet away as he emptied his net into a small bucket and hurried back to the shoreline to search for another net full of fish.  I took a photo of his catch and watched and waited for him to enter the water once again, throw his net into the sea and instantly pull the full net to the shore line.  Eventually he took time out to answer a few questions before heading back for another catch.  He called the fish he was catching sprats.  The sprat is a small, widely spread herring.  It lives in densely populated colonies and rarely evolves below 150 meters deep.  In the food chain it is an important food source for larger fish, but the sprat is also a great food source for humans since it is rich in proteins, Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D as well as Selenium which fights harmful chemical processes in the body.  

Alex showing me the net he uses.

I introduced myself and he told me his name was Alex.  He also told me he tries to fish these waters twice a day and sells his catch to local food distribution places that resell the fish.  He has been fishing this area of Orient beach since he was 12 years old.  As I looked at him I would have guessed he was in his late teens, but surprised me when he said he was 30 years old.  I looked at him and said, "If eating these fish can make you look as young as you, I better start to eat them myself."  Got a big smile from this very personable young fellow.  I asked him what he looks for in the water to know where the fish are located.  

Emptying the fish from the net into his bucket.

He told me its best to fish early in the morning and late in the afternoon, since it is easier to see shadows of the schools of fish on the bottom with the sun low in the sky.  He pointed out a shadow and said he looks at the water above the shadow and looks for a silver glow in the water.  He pointed out a school of fish directly in front of us and said, "See the glow right below the surface of the water?"  I said "yes" as he grabbed his net and hurried into the water, but I had no idea what he saw that was different from the water to the left or right of us.  And, that's why he is as proficient as he is and I'm standing on the shore watching him.  

His bucket after one net full of fish.  He
worked until the bucket was filled.

He walked back into the water with his net until he was almost waist-deep and threw the net across the water's surface.  The weights around the edge of the net made it sink downward and as quick as can be he pulled the sides of the net toward him.  He pulled it into shallow water and lifted it from the water.  It was filled with silver sprat fish that were about 8 to 10 inches in length.  I watched this young man walk back and forth along water's edge for about 30 minutes until he had filled his bucket with the fish.  He waved goodbye as he walked to his vehicle to deliver the fish to his buyer.  Carol and I will visit this beach a few times for the next two weeks and I will get a few more chances to watch this fisherman at work along the shoreline.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.