Can a person make a living at "sharkin'"? - Jaws (1975) Discussion

[–] Mrmojo4700 (21454) 2 years ago

Shark fishing rodeos pay for first to 3rd place, not that a person could make a living in that way. Commercial fishing would be what I think Quint was talking about, and the laws were much more lax in 1975, it would seem.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/2021-atlantic-shark-commercial-fishing-year-quotas-opening-dates-and-retention-limits

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Does anyone actually eat shark meat, or does Quint just sell his catch directly to Friskies?

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[–] mikethemartian (6708) a year ago

They use shark meat to make scallops. I guess they are actually “imitation” scallops.

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[–] Otter (24464) a year ago

Who's to know! A little circle of fishy muscular tissue that tastes fishy...

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[–] [deleted] a year ago

You seem to be the target market! Try a real scallop once and you'll know the difference next time.

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

Isn't it illegal to hunt sharks nowadays by federal law? I remember back in the day they sold shark steak with a squeeze of lemon at Port 'O Call Village in California.

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

I don't think shark's were overfishing and endangered back then.

And I dissect that at least some of Quint's shark's ended up being sold as "cod".

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[–] mikethemartian (6708) a year ago

I remember around 2000 and 2001 Peter Benchley was being interviewed and said he regretted writing Jaws because it resulted in the over hunting of sharks.

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[–] moviebuff66 (20) 2 years ago

Frank Mundus did, he is the man that Peter Benchley used as his inspiration for Captain Quint . He took people out shark fishing , met him at a sportsman's show in Buffalo NY in the 1980's . I think he charged $1,000 for a trip back then.. He had a fiberglass replica of a Great White at his booth it had to be 20 feet long . Before that he skippered party fishing boats in the 1950's . He's mentioned in a book called Dark Noon about the capsize of a party boat named the Pelican off Montauk Long Island in 1951. There is also a bio of him called In the Slick of the Cricket.

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Hey, an informed response! Thanks! But so if "sharkin'" is really a thing, is it more commercial fishing or sport-fishing? Because you're going to laugh, but it never once occurred to me in 40-odd years of being familiar with this movie, that Quint might take sport fishermen out on his boat, or that sport fishermen might have any interest in catching big sharks.

But then, the whole world of hunting and fishing is out of my frame of reference. Take me out on the ocean and I'll birdwatch or dive, I won't hurt anything.

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[–] moviebuff66 (20) a year ago

I think he took people out on sportfishing trips

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[–] moviebuff66 (20) a year ago

I think he took people out on sportfishing trips . The man who was the basis for the character Frank Mundus originally took people out party boat fishing . He came up with the idea of "monster fishing" for sharks as a way to attract customers.

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[–] Otter (24464) a year ago

Cool! Thanks again for an informed response!

I know nothing from sport fishing. Just shark diving.

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[–] PaladinNJ (21509) a year ago

Makes sense.

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[–] moviechatterer (15583) a year ago

that Quint might take sport fishermen out on his boat

didnt occur to me either.
Although it *would* be an explanation of how Quint could make a sharks only living ,"sharkin" , I dont think that was it . His boat , crew , shack , and demeanor were just not "public facing" enough : )

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[–] Otter (24464) a year ago

Actually, he might get along well enough with straight men's fishing parties, as long as he keeps his temper and crazy in check. The sort of people who visit Martha's... Amity Island and charter a fishing boat would be middle-class professionals with some money to spend and the desire to feel like real men for once, and they'd be happy to drink beer with a real New England fisherman and feel all manly, as long as Quint kept things cheerful.

Of course, he wouldn't always, he'd lose his shit every now and then, and lose business.

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[–] ak47wong (563) a year ago

Sounds a bit like the "cowboy experience" cattle drive in City Slickers.

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[–] Otter (24464) a year ago

Yeah, pretty much.

Only Quint wouldn't be as patient with the noobs as the Jack Palance character was, he could put up with their nonsense for days and days!

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[–] ebhaynz (3688) 2 years ago

Quint was a fisherman, he talked about all the other types of fish he caught to make a livin'

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

But he also said "You all know how I make my living... SHARKIN'..."!

Which does imply that he was not currently catching other kinds of fish.

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[–] ebhaynz (3688) 2 years ago

aggressive sales pitch, he wanted to stamp out the competition.

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Dude, the competition at that point was made up of those "They're all gonna die" guys!

He knew he was the only guy in town who could catch a specific Great White, and so did everyone else. It just took a while for the town authorities to finish negotiating with him.

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[–] ebhaynz (3688) 2 years ago

Quint says "You all know me, know how I make a living" but he doesn't say "sharkin".

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[–] PittPanthers47 (237) 2 years ago

That is the correct quote attributed to Quint at the town hall meeting. He does later tell Hooper that he was talkin' about workin' for a livin' He was talkin' about sharkin'.

Hooper had city hands for counting money. Hooper didn't need all that working class BS.

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Betcha Hooper had practically grown up at the yacht club!

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[–] PittPanthers47 (237) 2 years ago

LOL. Yeah, except that time when he turned 12 and got that rowboat and had the baby thresher shark rip it apart piece by piece. He was in sharks from that point on. Pretzel?

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[–] moviechatterer (15583) a year ago

correct , so in that context "sharkin" could be just one of a range of fishing activities Quint undertook on his boat.

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[–] Gd5150 (11747) 2 years ago

Well it was a tourist town. Could sell shark meat, jaw bones, teeth, toof necklaces, toof earrings, jaw bracelets, sharkmcnuggets, singing lessons…

“ Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies “

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[–] PittPanthers47 (237) 2 years ago

Good one. Singing lessons. There was that one deleted scene that absolutely needed to stay in the movie where the young boy is at the music store trying to play the instrument and Quint was standing behind him keeping count "Tatatatatatatatatatatatatatata." That gets me every time! Quint did have some measure of music in him.

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

I'm sure a lot of that shark meat was sold as "turbot", for a small fortune.

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[–] NRC123 (2133) a year ago

In the book he took people out charter fishing, like Andy Dufresne.

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[–] Mrmojo4700 (21454) a year ago

Are you talking about sharkin?

You talkin about workin for a living??

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