ST. JOHN'S, NFLD – It was July 1992 and we had just put one set of fishing gear in the water when the news came that the fishery would be shut down in just a couple of days. I remember watching TV with the crew while Fisheries Minister John Crosbie delivered the bad news. He said fish stocks were so depleted that the commercial fishery would be shut down completely. There were fishermen outside the room actually trying to break down the door and get at Mr. Crosbie. What do we do now?

My name is Darrin Thorne and I'm 31. I'm now the distribution co-ordinator for Nautical Data International in St. John's. My company converts navigational charts from paper into electronic form. The charts are used on commercial, recreational and sports fishing boats right across the country. My job is to be in contact with our dealers across the country, to produce invoices, to attend international boat shows and to provide technical support for our product to our customers and dealers.

When I started at NDI, I was situated on the first floor where all the windows had dark curtains to keep the sunlight off the computer screens. It made sense, but I found the darkness tough. Probably the biggest transition I had to face was going from outdoors, working in an open boat on the ocean, to a room without much sunlight. I was so used to working in the fresh air that it was a little claustrophobic to be in a place with hardly any light. I enjoy the outdoors very much. It's probably what I miss the most about fishing.

Every morning and evening we would leave Tapper's Cove in Torbay in our 34-ft. open fishing boat to go to our five cod traps. It was a life I enjoyed. To actually get into an open boat and go out onto the sea gives a sense of freedom. It's just you, the sea and the fish. It meant being outdoors 90 per cent of the time. It meant using your muscles, and after a hard day's work you felt that you had accomplished something.

My first trip on the water was when I was 11. For the next six years I went on the water with my brother Rodney every day during the summer to cut cod tongues. You take the fish by the eyes, flip it over and make two cuts. We also sold a scatter cod fish on the side without the owner of the boat knowing. It was a good summer activity because the money was good. Fifty to 60 dozen tongues a day at a dollar a dozen, and you were finished up by 11 or 12 noon.

Fishing was no picnic. There were a lot of easy days, but there were as many or more hard days. When I was 17, I got a chance to get a berth on a boat with two other fishermen from Torbay. I fished with them for the next three years. We would go to Tapper's Cove every morning at 4 a.m. and then proceed to the traps. When we got home after an evening of hauling our traps, it's safe to say that we were ready for the bed. Our day didn't end until at least 8 p.m. On busy days we were lucky to get home before 10 or 11 at night.

But working that late meant there were lots of fish and the paycheques made it worthwhile. There were a few weeks when I cleared $3,500 to $4,000. Once the traps were taken in for the season we had to wait until the middle of November before we could get our employment insurance straightened out.

My fishing days came to an end when Mr. Crosbie enforced the first-ever cod moratorium. At first it was a huge concern but as the details came out about compensation, it started to sound better and better, to me at least.

I figured that the fishery wasn't going to return to what it was and this was a chance to get out and get retrained at no expense. I had been out of school for about four years. To go back into a classroom would take some getting used to.

I weighed my options and decided I was interested in computers. I took a three-year course in microcomputers and a course where I learned to create electronic navigational charts using computer software programs.

Once I finished, I started a six-month work term with NDI in the production department. I learned how to convert paper charts, used by fisherman and other boaters, into electronic charts so that these people could put a computer on their boats and interface it with a Global Positioning System. Now they have real-time positioning right on the computer screen. After two years in production I moved into the distribution department and moved up to the position I'm in now.

The transition from fishing to working in an office behind a computer screen took a bit of getting used to. When I was fishing, my day consisted of talking to the same people and doing exactly the same job in the same place every day. When I go to work at NDI there are days when I get to go out and display our product to people on the waterfront in St. John's. I get to travel to Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax to attend the boat shows, I talk to different people on the phone every day. I provide technical support for our digital charts and I give input on issues about our product. This job is definitely more stressful and takes more thinking. When I was fishing I was hired for what we call "bull work."

To go back to fishing now is not an option. I'm getting a steady pay cheque and overall the money is better than when I was fishing. I'm home almost every evening and weekend. I get to spend time with my family and they don't have to worry about me being out on the ocean. I enjoy the interactions with people I haven't met before. I feel that I have fully transitioned from a fisherman to an office worker.

Retraining is an everyday occurrence. To keep up with changes in the workplace one has to keep training. My goal is to get more into the sales management position, where I would have more say on how things are run. In five years I should have more experience and hope I can move up.

If you set your mind to something that interests you then anything is possible.