The Fisher men
Hannah McLeod meets the humble Fisher boys from Bluff, who are about to star in their own TV series.
As you approach the Fisher family home in Bluff, ropes and buoys are scattered around the grand gates.
You can’t really describe the house as anything else but a mansion, with its huge entrance way and 360-degree views of Bluff harbour from a hill above the port town.
However, you soon get to know this home has been hard-earned by those who live there, and the generations before them who fished the treacherous Foveaux Strait as well as waters further south.
Bluff is home to Jayce and Slade Fisher, their dad Vaughn, and cousin Jamie.
The family are the stars of a new 10-part documentary, Crayfishers, which follows Jayce, Slade, and Jamie as they run the successful crayfishing business Vaughn has recently handed over.
Also featuring is Vaughn’s wife and Jayce and Slade’s mum, April, who runs the business side of the operation from her home office.
The Fisher whanau has a long and proud tradition in the southern ocean, their ancestors have fished the waters around Stewart Island for centuries.
Vaughn is a second-generation commercial fisherman, and, when he retired, he offered Jayce the chance to take the skipper’s seat.
Jayce and Slade say they were surprised to see how easily their father was able to relax and entrust his business to his sons.
You’d think that featuring in their own TV show would be daunting for these relaxed, humble boys from Bluff, but, with a shrug, Jayce says it wasn’t so odd.
They’ve been through the process before – they featured in Million Dollar Catch in 2009 when Vaughn was still in charge.
Slade reckons because they had dealt with TV crews before, it was not so hard this time around.
‘‘It’s a little bit like riding a bike. There’s always an adjustment period at the start.’’
Jamie has also received special attention in the past, having been awarded a Royal Humane Society Award for bravery from the Governor General in 2005 for helping to rescue a sailor who got into trouble in waters south of Stewart Island.
With Jayce at the helm, Slade and Jamie are the crew of the 20.4-metre-long X-S, which Vaughn had custom-built.
The trio are usually at sea for about four days straight, setting and checking the 300 crayfish pots, and their brief time at home between trips is filled with planning, Jayce says.
The men have become experts in the weather, as well as any mechanical problems they may face while at sea and a long way from home.
They’ve all been helping out on fishing boats for as long as they can remember, and Jayce says they’ve seen the industry go through huge change, from when the Quota Management System was introduced in 1990.
While the crayfishing industry might once have been incredibly competitive, those who fish out of Bluff all take care of each other, Jayce says.
The Fisher brothers reckon they’ll get a bit of ribbing from their mates down at the pub for this new-found stardom.
Perhaps they will just go fishing to escape the attention.
Crayfishers premieres Tuesday, June 7 at 8pm on Prime.