~ A tradition on St. Eustatius ~
Catching Jack Fish (or Jacks) has been a tradition on the island of Statia for several decades. Many years ago, the image of the late Duncan Leerdam mending a net that caught Jacks was featured on the NAf. 100 paper bill.
In years gone by, before phones or cell phones became the norm, islanders would hear by word of mouth that a boat was out looking for Jacks. Word would spread around the community, and people would be on the alert looking for when the boat would come in.
Persons would be at the Hillhead to look over and see when the boat was coming in. They would then head down the bay path to the lower town to ask where the boat had come in. Depending on the current, the boat would sometimes come in at Smoke Alley, or perhaps Gallows Bay, or wherever they could come safely to the shore. They had to prevent the net from being torn by the rocks.
Sometimes there would be more than one boat, depending on how many Jacks were in the net. If there were too many Jacks to be sold on Statia, the owners would take their extra haul and load a fishing boat for St. Kitts. They would cross the channel to Sandy Point, which is 11 miles away, and there the fish would be sold. Just a few years ago in Smoke Alley, so many Jacks were caught that the total amount had to be left in the net overnight because it grew too late to pull them in.
The process of pulling in the net has to be done with great care, otherwise, the net would get torn and the Jacks would escape. Each person working with the net gets a share of the haul. Workers include those persons working on the net and on the boat, as well as those working in scuba gear underwater. Besides Jacks, Cavalli fish and Ballyhoo are also caught in the net. These are all silver fish and they tend to swim together in a big school.
Over the last weekend at Smoke Alley Beach, Maxwell “Maxie” Spanner, his children, grandchildren and other family members and friends were all seen pulling in the net as is customarily done. Some people were on the boat, there were also divers in the water as well as persons on land working with the net. As the Jacks were being pulled in, there was quite a crowd of people waiting to purchase some Jacks. For some, this was a first time experience seeing how they catch the fish in the net.
After Jacks are caught on Statia, it is not uncommon to smell the aroma of fish being fried or boiled as one walks or drives around the island. Jacks are also sent via care packages to friends and families on the neighbouring islands of Saba, St. Maarten, Curaçao and sometimes even as far as the Netherlands and the U.S.A.
