What Is Hawaii Longline Fishing? Captain Ben, F/V Cumberland Trail

"Longline fishing for those that don't know, is basically a really big fishing pole with a lot of hooks. We have a spool of line that can carry up to 50 miles of line, we spread that across 30 to 40 miles of water with buoys hooks and bait. We get that off the boat early in the morning and it takes about 5 hours, then we let it soak for about 5 1/2 hours and then we pick it up. It takes about 10 to 12 hours to pick up. And that's a normal day for us in the longline fishery, 17 to 19 hour days. Basically it's a lot of fishing and a little bit of catching is basically what it comes down to. It's lots and lots of fishing and then sometimes you catch some throughout the night..."