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Offshore Fishing and Food Procurement: Essential Skills for Marine Emergencies

Quick Summary​

Whether you're dealing with a boat breakdown, extended sailing trip, or coastal emergency, knowing how to procure food from marine environments can be life-saving. These field-tested techniques work for anyone from weekend sailors to long-distance cruisers.

Why This Matters​

Marine emergencies happen more often than you'd think. Your engine fails 50 miles offshore. A storm damages your radio and delays rescue by days. You're exploring a remote coastline when your vehicle breaks down. In these situations, the ocean provides abundant food if you know where to look and how to safely harvest it.

Modern GPS and satellite communicators have made marine emergencies less common, but they still happen. Weather can disable electronics, batteries die, and equipment fails. These skills serve as your backup plan.

Essential Fishing Techniques​

Improvised Lures​

When you don't have proper fishing tackle, you can create effective lures from common items:

Shiny Metal Lures:

  • Attach any reflective metal piece to a double hook
  • Bottle caps, jewelry, coins, or foil all work
  • The flash attracts fish from considerable distances
  • Works best in bright sunlight when reflection is strongest

Modern alternatives: LED fishing lures ($15-30) are waterproof and extremely effective, especially at night.

Grappling for Food​

A grapple helps you harvest seaweed and the small creatures living in it:

DIY Grapple Construction:

  1. Find a sturdy piece of driftwood for the main shaft (3-4 feet long)
  2. Lash three smaller branches to one end as hooks
  3. Use rope, wire, or strong cord for lashing
  4. Test the connection before use - losing your grapple means losing food

How to Use:

  • Drag through seaweed beds slowly
  • Shake collected seaweed over a container
  • Crabs, shrimp, and small fish often fall out
  • Save everything - it's all potential food or bait
caution

Only eat seaweed when you have plenty of fresh water available. Seaweed's high salt content can worsen dehydration.

Bait and Netting Strategies​

Small Fish as Bait:

  • Catch small fish first using improvised nets
  • Make nets from clothing, tarps, or any fabric
  • Hold the net underwater and scoop upward quickly
  • Early morning and evening are most productive

Keep Bait Active:

  • Move bait constantly to simulate live prey
  • Use fish guts, bird entrails, and small crabs as bait
  • Fresh bait works better than old, but don't waste food if you're hungry

Critical Fishing Safety Rules​

Protect Your Equipment​

  • Never puncture your raft or boat with hooks or sharp tools
  • Secure all fishing gear with lanyards
  • Dry fishing lines after use to prevent rot
  • Keep hooks sharp and clean

Shark Precautions​

  • Stop fishing immediately if sharks appear
  • Cut large fish loose rather than risk capsizing
  • Target smaller fish - they're easier to handle safely
  • Clean fish away from your location, not in the water nearby

Timing Your Efforts​

  • Fish at night using any available light - flashlight, lantern, or phone light
  • During the day, look for shade under your boat or raft
  • Watch for schools of fish and move toward them
  • Birds diving indicates fish activity below

Spear Fishing Technique​

For larger fish, you can improvise a spear:

  1. Securely lash a knife to an oar or paddle
  2. Critical: Tie the knife with multiple wraps of rope or cord
  3. Get the fish into your boat quickly before it slips off
  4. Have a backup plan if you lose the knife
warning

Only attempt spear fishing if you have a backup cutting tool. Losing your only knife can be catastrophic.

Bird Procurement​

Seabirds provide both food and useful materials:

Attracting Birds​

  • Tow shiny metal behind your boat to draw birds within range
  • Works best with curious species like gulls
  • Early morning and late afternoon are most effective

Bird Noose Technique​

  1. Create a slip-knot noose from cord or wire
  2. Bait the center with fish scraps or other food
  3. When the bird steps into the noose, pull quickly
  4. Requires patience but works on birds that land nearby

Using All Parts​

  • Meat: Protein source (cook thoroughly)
  • Feathers: Insulation for shelter or clothing
  • Entrails and feet: Excellent fishing bait
  • Bones: Can be shaped into hooks or tools

Coastal Food Sources​

Mollusks (Excellent Protein Source)​

Safe to Eat:

  • Mussels, clams, limpets
  • Sea snails, octopus, squid
  • Sea slugs (less appetizing but nutritious)

Apply the Universal Edibility Test to each species before eating.

Dangerous Species

Never eat:

  • Blue-ringed octopus (deadly venomous)
  • Cone shells (venomous)
  • Any mollusk during "red tide" algae blooms

Crustaceans​

Highly Recommended:

  • Crabs and lobsters (excellent food, rarely dangerous)
  • Barnacles (harder to harvest but very nutritious)
  • Handle with gloves due to sharp shells and spines

Sea Urchins​

  • Common in tropical shallow waters
  • Wear gloves - spines are painful and break off in skin
  • Remove all spines before eating
  • Good protein source despite the harvesting difficulty

Seaweed and Marine Plants​

Most seaweeds are edible, but:

  • Only eat when you have adequate fresh water
  • Start with small amounts to test your tolerance
  • Some varieties are more nutritious than others
  • Can be eaten fresh, dried, or cooked

Modern Equipment Recommendations​

Budget Emergency Kit ($50-75)​

  • Survival fishing kit with hooks, line, weights, and lures
  • Compact net for catching bait fish
  • Multi-tool with pliers for handling hooks and fish

Professional Grade ($150-300)​

  • Telescoping fishing rod that breaks down for storage
  • LED fishing lures for night fishing
  • Fish finder device to locate schools
  • Diving gloves for handling spiny creatures safely

Luxury Options ($500+)​

  • Portable fish smoker for preservation
  • Professional crabbing supplies
  • Underwater camera to scout before diving

Common Mistakes to Avoid​

Equipment Mistakes:

  • Using fishing gear near sharks (attracts them)
  • Not securing fishing equipment (loses it overboard)
  • Puncturing your raft with hooks or knives

Safety Mistakes:

  • Handling spiny fish without gloves
  • Swimming to retrieve lost equipment
  • Keeping caught fish in the water too long (attracts predators)

Food Safety Mistakes:

  • Not testing unfamiliar species for edibility
  • Eating mollusks during algae blooms
  • Consuming fish that appear diseased or abnormal

When to Seek Help​

Some situations require immediate professional assistance:

  • Severe cuts from coral or shells - risk of serious infection
  • Suspected poisoning from fish or shellfish - call poison control
  • Allergic reactions to marine creatures - may worsen rapidly
  • Persistent vomiting after eating sea food - could indicate toxin exposure

Safety Disclaimers​

Medical Disclaimer

This information is for educational purposes only. Some marine creatures are extremely dangerous. When in doubt, don't risk it. Seek professional medical attention for any injuries or suspected poisoning.

Legal Note

Check local fishing regulations before harvesting marine life. Some areas have restrictions on species, seasons, or methods. This information assumes emergency situations where normal regulations may not apply.

Source

Adapted from Field Manual FM-3-05.70

Last updated: January 18, 2026