As if to disobey the laws of pathetic fallacy the seas under Charlie Boy 2, one of the last full-time fishing boats in Killybegs, remained calm on Monday.
The mind of its owner, John Menarry, however, was turbulent. A few hundred metres off the Donegal coast, he was checking lobster pots.
Recent Chinese new year celebrations 8,000km away meant an uptick in demand for crab – this he foresaw – but the outbreak of the war 6,500km away in the Middle East meant his catch was returned due to a cancelled flight.
The same war had seen his oil costs spiral nearly 55 per cent in 10 days and the price of bait could soon nearly double.
This solitary fisherman was running an international business and faraway bombs were crashing waves on to it. The idea of globalisation has been entrenched in trade going back hundreds if not thousands of years.
The under-fire Iranian capital of Tehran was a point of passage on the Silk Road trade route over 2,000 years ago.
However, since the fall of the Berlin Wall the world has become increasingly interconnected and disruptions of trade routes on Saturday can see petrol pump prices increase on Monday. This interconnected world has also led to the depletion of daily fishermen in Killybegs.
Larger boats can catch fishing quotas in a matter of days and then follow the shoals to other waters.
John Menarry mostly fishes lobster and brown crab. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Menarry throws out a crab that became ensnared in his lobster pot. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Menarry hauls in lobster pot aboard Charlie Boy 2. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
The last lobster pot of the day flies off the back of Charlie Boy 2. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Killybegs once had a thriving daily fishing community but now the majority of fishing quotas go to a small collection of large vessels that only fish for a few days a year. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Menarry kicks a buoy off his boat. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
John Menarry puts rubber bands around a lobster’s pincers. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Bait has gone up significantly in price over the last few years and has impacted inshore fisherman’s ability to make a living. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Menarry casts a line out to take lobster pots from his boat off the Donegal coast. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Crabs legs and gloves. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Menarry measures a lobster to see if its size meets regulations. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Menarry hauls in a lobster pot. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd 
Menarry looks out from his vessel. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd