Rev. Sun Myung Moon
God's Will and the Ocean
Tuna Fishing and the
Way of Life
July 5th, 1984 -- Morning Garden
HOW DO YOU FEEL when you look at the ocean? Sometimes it rains and
more often the winds blow. Do you have any questions that you would
like to ask me? Did you learn how to do things, how to put your bait on
the line? Not yet? Did you want to come or did someone tell you to
come? Is this is your first time here? The days are long, but you will
learn how to go beyond the tiredness.
It takes two or two and one-half hours to go to Provincetown where
the fishing grounds are. That means fishing begins at five o clock in
the morning. To get there you have to leave at 3:00 a.m. or even 2:00
a.m. You have to be the first boats there and get ready for the tuna
guests. That's courtesy. You are ready for everything. The tuna is
already here, but not many fishermen are catching them yet. We have to
think about that with our common sense. Why are they here, but cannot
be caught?
Patterns of Life Within the Ocean
Sand eels migrate and move according to the season. These sand eels,
hordes of them, are coming up from the south. The water temperature is
still cold, and the lower you go, the colder it gets, although the
temperature stays a little warmer on the surface. The sand eels are
beginning to gather; the fish are going after these sand eels, but they
are not concentrated yet. They are in the area, but they haven't made
their home here yet. These sand eels will settle down when the water
temperature goes up.
As the summer goes on, the temperature goes up. Then, they will
gather in one area, somewhat like a plateau where the depth is only
between seventy to about one hundred and twenty feet. Other depths are
200 or 300 feet and are too deep, too cold. The larger fish know where
these tiny sand eels are and they all concentrate in the general area
to feed upon them. The whales and tuna stay in the deeper area, but in
the morning they come up to eat. One can honestly say it is their
breakfast time. That breakfast place is where we are now going out and
waiting.
Herring, mackerel and cod are smaller fish which tuna also feed
upon. They all come around where the temperature is warm and where
there is an abundance of sand eels. That is the area we are going to.
The tuna, when they come in and out of the feeding area, have a certain
approach where they tend to go in and out. That is where we want to
place our boats. That is usually on the edge of the area, a ledge. Tuna
do not like rough things, just like anything normal. So where there is
a cliff, the tuna don't want to come there. Rather, they will come
where there is a slope. They prefer a gradual slope and come in and out
that way.
First you have to study the charts and see what kind of terrain
there is, and then you have to go there and try it out. I spent a lot
of time investigating this, scientifically and also intuitively. That
is one reason why the New Hope has been catching lots of tuna,
more than many other boats. Also the boats around New Hope
have been able to catch a good number of tuna. For this reason, even
people who are not Moonies try to fish close to the New Hope.
You have to know substantially about these things. You have to have
an in-depth perception. You might say, "Well, the ocean is the same
everywhere and the fish come here and go there and its a matter of
sheer chance." Not so. Not at all. Chance is not involved. Tuna have a
manner of doing things, they have habits. We have to understand about
their habits. The smaller fish gather together where there is plenty of
food, where there is shelter and they can hide and protect themselves.
These small fish move around by schools. You will see some schools
that are miles wide and long, and hundreds of feet deep. The tide comes
in and out and these schools move around with it. Sometimes the
currents are very strong, while other times the currents are weak. The
smaller fish go in very large schools for protection, and they are
looking for places where they can hide, such as the very big rocks.
There are many places like this in certain areas of the ocean and we
have to study these kind of things if we are going to catch the kind of
fish we want.
For example, we might want to catch striped bass. Sometimes the
schools of very small fish are moving too fast because the currents and
tides are pulling them, so the fish in front cannot slow down even if
they want to. Instead of being able to hide behind a rock, they collide
into it. This leaves them somewhat knocked out, dizzy, just like a man
would be if he did the same thing to his head. This is where the
striped bass hang around. When the small fish hit the rock and swim
slowly about in a dazed manner, they are easier to prey upon. You can
find striped bass in places like this. You have to think like the
striped bass and then figure out the logical place where they will be.
Tuna fishing is the same. You reason everything out; you have to
think everything through. Don't just go somewhere and throw your gear
into the ocean and just hope the tuna will somehow get hooked. The
small fish go with the currents. There are places along the ledge where
the currents slow down. This is where the small fish go and where the
larger fish come after them to feed. You have to look at the charts and
find these places where there is a drop-off and the depths change
sharply.
You have to perceive whether the bottom is a sandy, muddy or rocky
bottom. There are different types of worms and small creatures. You
have to study about that as well. Some live where there is seaweed and
others where it is rocky or sandy. If you are going for the smaller
fish, you have to understand what the bottom is like. The weight on the
tackle is important in rocky areas. If you just throw the hook down
there, it will get snagged. Sometimes you might get your gear back, but
most often you have to cut your line.
To prevent that, you place your weight about ten feet below your
hook and bait. Then, you have to imagine what your tackle will look
like down there and be able to feel your weight when it hits the
bottom. You have to have some sensitivity about that. And you have to
consider the current pulling your hook and bait. If it isn't much, then
it won't be ten feet above the weight. It will be more like five feet
or just two feet. So, you have to be conscious how your bait will hang
on the line and be able to judge from that how high from the bottom it
actually is.
In Alaska, where there is halibut, I put my thoughts about this into
practice and it worked very well. When I am out tuna fishing, I am
always thinking like this, how to do things and what to do next. My
mind is never idle. When I went fishing for halibut in Alaska I caught
twice as much as the others. They wondered how I did it, but I didn't
tell them. However, there isn't much to it. You just have to think,
and when your assumption is right, you will catch the fish you are
going after. You have to know the habits of the fish, the tendency of
the fish and the terrain. The rest is logical reasoning. You think to
yourself, "This is so and this must be it." You then try it out and you
discover, "that must be it." That is how it works. In the ocean, there
are different fish at different layers of the water. Fish live along
the bottom and then a few feet above that, and then still above that
there are other fish. At different layers and water temperatures, there
are different types of fish. Fish are very sensitive. They want to live
in the environment which suits them best. They don't live in
unfavorable environments like man does. Generally, the differences in
depth of water determine the difference in temperature. It tends to get
colder as it gets deeper. The difference is only a little, but this
difference means quite a bit to fish. Remember, the fish will also go
where there is feed. Each different species of fish preys upon fish
smaller than themselves. They never prey upon fish that are larger.
Someone may assume that whales and tuna are big fish, so they must
be in deeper waters. But don't just assume that. Think of where they
would feed. The smaller fish are up in the higher levels. Even if the
tuna like to be down deep, they must come up to feed. And sure enough,
they do. That's where we catch tuna the most. If you only drop your
bait in the deepest waters, you will never catch them. The temperature
of the water, the type of feed and the environment, especially where
they can be protected, all determine where the fish are going to be.
And also, fish spend some of their time playing and resting; that is
where the water is still and calm. After they feed, they go to play.
The afternoon and early evening are the times when they usually play
around.
You have to think about the currents. The small fish don't want to
feed in the fast moving currents. Even the large fish find it difficult
to feed and swim in strong currents. A lot of this is learned through
experience. However, you have to have some idea of things before you
also experience them. On the other hand, even if you know the basic
theory of something, you don't really know it until you experience it.
Think about the moon. There are different phases to the moon. According
to what it shows you, quarter moon, half moon or full moon, the tide
changes. Every day of the month is not the same. Sometimes the tide
moves more strongly. At high tide, the water moves faster. Look at the
water mark. You can tell if it is the high tide of the month or the low
tide of the month.
It means this. When you know it is high tide, but the water mark is
still higher than that, you know that it is the low tide of the month.
Do you follow? There is a six hour interval between the high tide and
low tide. There is high tide, then mid-tide and then low tide. From low
tide it goes back to mid-tide and then high tide. The cycle moves like
this and it covers twenty-four hours, two high tides and two low
tides.
When you are tuna fishing, you have to consider the tides. You have
to think, "What kind of tide is it now, high or low? Is the tide going
out or coming in?" You have to ask, "If the tide is going out, what is
the tendency of the fish? If it is coming in, what do the fish most
likely do?" You have to put all this information together in your mind.
And then, you must go out and experience it.
There are fish who eat when the tide is coming in, so when the tide
starts to move in, you cast your bait and you can catch a lot. On the
other hand, when the tide is moving out, you can even see the fish and
yet, no matter how much you cast your bait they do not even touch it.
Fish tend to feed at certain times of the day. They feed according to
the tides, currents and also the time of the day. This is true of land
animals. Did you ever watch the rabbit? There is a certain time the
rabbit feeds. There is a very good reason for when they come out to
eat. The rabbit does not want to eat in the middle of the day when the
hawk is able to spot him clearly. The whole animal kingdom operates
like this. They move about at the best times for their protection. For
example, the tiger feeds at night. They do this when the small animals
are sleeping. They travel up to 100 miles in their excursions.
Elephants feed early in the morning when it is not too hot; the rest of
the day they look for shade under the trees or they go to the watering
hole. This kind of pattern is less and less predictable when it comes
to lower animals. The small fish will feed at any time, but the larger
fish have a distinct time when they come to feed in full force. Don't
over emphasize that fishing is simple. Don't think you can go out
anywhere, anytime and just throw out the bait. Don't think it just
comes by luck. There is a whole lot more to catching fish than that.
You have to study in detail. Then of course, after all that, there is
some small element of luck.
Putting Theory into Practice, Practice into Life
I don't expect you to memorize this from one end to the other. You
think you understand everything now, but when you get out there in your
boat, you won't remember the first thing. However teaching you in
lectures is necessary. Even though you have never put this into
practice yet, it is like a seed planted in your mind. By next year, you
will begin to realize things and say to yourself, "Oh, what Father said
has real meaning; I'm going to put it into practice."
It is like martial arts. The first thing you learn is basic form.
However, when you are involved in fighting, you forget all about those
forms. You just try to do whatever you can. Later, much later, as you
keep using it, you come back to those forms and even use them naturally
when you are sparring or fighting. How do you eventually learn
anything? Through the practice of it. This is how you learn martial
arts. It is not so much the lessons that teach you, but having to
fight. In fighting you learn to put together all the lessons. And the
one who becomes a champion is the one who challenges to fight again and
again, even if he has to fight for twenty-four hours at a time. That
kind of commitment eventually makes him the best in his class. It is
not the big guy who wins, but the guy who has the most determination
and trains the hardest.
It is the same with fishing. The message for us here is that we have
to work hard and experience all the aspects of fishing, even
twenty-four hours a day. For at least three years, you should fish in
these grounds and you explore these areas much more than anyone else.
When you become familiar with all these things, you catch more fish in
two or three hours than all the others who come and fish the entire
day. You must become an expert like this. You just have to start trying
things and find out for yourself what works and what doesn't. There is
some distance between Provincetown and Gloucester. Also, the fish
behave in a different way according to the different tides, currents,
depths of water and terrain below. You have to know all about these
things.
You have to study about other kinds of fish besides tuna. You have
to study the fluke and flounder. In other areas we could catch a lot
around twenty feet deep, but in these waters you can't find them at
twenty feet at all. So, we have to look for them, perhaps in fifteen
feet of water or even less. The New Hope is a large boat and
it is hard to get into shallow areas. The captain is always worried
when I tell him to go anywhere near ten feet of water.
The One Hope can go into that depth of water easily. In
that sense, it is an all round fishing boat. I designed that boat with
the greatest fishing ability in mind. It can truly go fast and it can
fit into almost every fishing situation. Some people think the boat is
not economical, but if you know where to fish, you can get there
quickly and get home quickly. If you don't study and know where you are
going, you have to travel all over the place and still not find the
fish.
In that case, the boat is not so economical. However, if you study
and know exactly what kind of fish you want and exactly how you are
going to get it, another kind of boat which is slower is less
economical. You waste time. You might save on some gas, but you waste
the whole day and come back with nothing. What is so economical about
that?
The New Hope is a slow boat. You cannot fish eight hours
and then come back. It takes time to go out and come back. Actually,
you don't get a full eight hours of fishing unless you go out very
early and come back very late, and that is what we usually do on the
New Hope. The One Hope is much faster; it is much
better than the New Hope for all kinds of fishing. You have to
show that this is the case. I have confidence in you and know that you
can do it.
You have to study and then apply the principles which you find. The
one who tries the most and also studies the most is the winner. Study
the high tide, low tide and mid tide. These are three typical times
which you have to try and discover what kind of results you can get.
According to the depth and terrain, you go out and fish. You think,
"Oh, this is the area where the fish are." And then, when you go out,
you catch nothing. Don't just run away. Fish there all day and see what
happens at different times of the tide. You have to consider all the
factors when you are out fishing.
The striped bass is an extremely difficult fish to catch. I had an
experience last year for three hours in the middle of the night when
they were in a frenzy. At that time, you can't think of going in for
any previous appointment or plan. Just forget about anything else
except catching them because when they are eating, when they are
biting, that is your opportunity. However, if you planned poorly, you
might run out of bait. What will you do then? You cannot run into the
store at three o'clock in the morning.
Well, this is what happened to us and we had to find a place at 3:00
a.m. last year. We had to look for bait. Someone had to go and do that.
They had to knock on the door above the bait shop where the owner
lived. Since the owner was a pro fisherman himself, he understood why
we had to do that. But what if you don't have a place to go to and get
more bait? I had already caught a lot of striped bass that day. Most
people would have given up at that time and said, "It's been a good day
and we caught more than anybody else, so let's go in." However, I
didn't do that and after we got more bait around 4:00 a.m., we kept
fishing and I caught still more striped bass. Setting a record is very
important. It is important for yourself and it is meaningful for the
people in that area. When you set a record for striped bass in some
area, people recognize you for what you've done. They respect you. What
happens when they respect you? Well, they come to you and discuss where
to catch a lot of striped bass. They want to know where you fish too,
but you don't have to say as much. They may take you to their best
spots, and you can then take them to one of yours. If you can set a
record with one fish, you can gain tens of years of fishing experience
in just one year by sharing with other fishermen like that. However, if
you don't have any kind of record, they will never tell you much of
anything. For example, I have an unusual story about fishing in Alaska
last year. One man had led us to some far out retreat where there is
some very good fishing. I asked him, "Who is the best halibut fisherman
out here?"
He and some of the other men there pointed to one fellow and said,
"This guy is called Red. He caught a 400 pound halibut last year. He is
the best fishermen in this area." Then I replied, "Oh, that's a lie." I
said it so seriously that I really agitated the man named Red, and he
got so angry that he took me to the best spot on that first day, just
to prove that he knew where the good fishing was! I also proved that
this man knew a good fishing spot, because I caught a 100 pound halibut
on the very first day. After that, I gave him full credit and this put
him on cloud nine.
At the same time, I showed him a better way of fishing for the
halibut and this really impressed the other fisherman. With my method I
caught twice as many as the others did. It had to do with time. I was
able to work much quicker and save more time than the others. I didn't
reel in the line like the other man, but pulled it in just like a tuna
line. And then, when I put the line back out, it went out much faster
than the reel as well. By sheer mathematics I caught more halibut.
At the end of the day, they asked me about my method. I tried to
explain it to them, but they didn't believe it right away. When I
argued with them, they were impressed. They had already tried fishing
like that, but the line always snagged on them. I had studied that too,
but I had found a way to do it so that the line wouldn't snag. I showed
that technique to them and they agreed that I had brought a much better
result than they had.
This is why you have to study things. You have to assume something
and then try it. That's what keeps you going. Assume something and then
prove it. That's what makes you men and women. There are many
different kinds of fish, but each fish has different habits. You have
to come to know these habits. You have to research and study. Don't
just sit there. Study, practice, make effort. You have to put in a lot
of time and give a lot of effort. It is like this for everything.
Witnessing is like that. You have to put in a lot of time. That is
the first thing. At first, you might not get much result. So then, you
have to study what you are saying and who you are talking to. Apply
this principle and put in a concentrated effort towards accomplishing
your goal. Don't you see that this is just a basic principle that
prevails throughout your life? It isn't just for fishing that you learn
these things this summer. Once you learn this principle down to your
bone, you will never forget it. What you learn here can go with you
into anything, anywhere. If you learn something by doing it, you never
forget. What about the person who doesn't want to study, research and
give serious effort to something? We cannot have much hope for him. You
have to remember that what begins small now has a big difference later
in your life. If you pick up these habits now in your young years,
later on in your life you will become somebody. However, if you keep on
living without investing yourself in this way, studying and applying
the things you learn, in thirty years time, you will be nothing.
I have lived in an intense way all the time. There is nothing that
doesn't interest me. Fishing is just one area for me. I am not just a
fisherman am I? Yet, I became one of the best fisherman around. This
is because I apply the same principle to everything in life.
Become Worthy to Inherit from the Best
Another thing for you to remember is to get hold of the top person.
Get hold of the top fisherman. Don't worry so much with the mediocre
ones. You have to have a sufficient interest in fishing in order to
approach the best person in your area. Even if you have a great deal
of interest, you must also have a solid preparation within yourself
before you can invite him over for dinner and talk with him. It's
important to connect to the top people if you want to get things done.
If you want to influence history, you have to become a quality person
and be able to move the high quality people in your area. In order to
reach these people, you have to be serious and study and be able to
gain success in some area. Then, you can move the minds of people who
are making the same kind of effort in their lives.
People who accomplish things in life want to have someone whom they
respect to inherit those things. Who can they respect? They will
respect the person with these qualities: the one who is serious and
willing to study or research, and then make real effort to apply what
he learns This is the one who will gain such respect. You have to
become like that.
Around the top person are usually four or five people and you have
to study them. Each one has some good characteristics. One of them
might work hard, but when his time is up, he's immediately gone.
Another one might spend more time, but he doesn't work as hard. A third
one might spend less time, but he is so serious and his sincerity tops
them all. From them, you can figure out which patterns to follow. You
take the best habits from all of them. For three years, don't say
anything. Talking just drains your energy and takes away your
concentration. Just put things into action. Be silent and learn. You
must become one of the people to be missed. When you aren't there, the
top man will ask, "Where is he today?" And the others will ask the same
question as well. They have to become interested in you and they really
have to need you to be around. Everyone should miss you. I look at all
of you. I am thinking about someone whose face I want to see. This year
I don't see someone's face which I remember from years before and I
miss him. If I don't miss you, it's because you are not a needed person
for the tuna season. That isn't so good is it? The one who has been
fishing for a few years and is eager to teach things to others, is the
one who has learned something the difficult way and wants to share with
others. That person will have little tricks of how to do things and he
will be able to teach about many different aspects of fishing that he
found out for himself.
You will see someone who is faithful to his own job, but not so
serious about the sake of the whole purpose. Then, you will see another
one who doesn't spend so much time on his own job, but is more
concerned about the whole group and how everyone else is doing. Some
people are very faithful to their own boat and they don't pay attention
to what others are doing. Such people think that is the best way of
life for them. On the other hand, another person comes around, giving a
hand to other boats and giving suggestions on how to improve things.
The second person in both examples is the more precious person. The
second kind of person never seems to bicker with other boats. He has
already done his share on his own boat and with his extra time wants to
help other boats. He isn't thinking of just his own boat, so how can he
be in conflict with another boat? He is interested in all the boats.
This way he keeps clear of all the little arguments that can come up.
All of us must become such a person that other people want to have
around helping them. This doesn't mean you don't accomplish your own
work. That's not it. It means that after you finish your own work, you
are free to help others with theirs. You must learn how to be quick and
efficient. I have practiced this since I was very young. As a student I
developed these habits. In school, no one wanted to do the cleaning
jobs, but I always took those jobs. In my school, I helped the teacher
with more cleaning jobs than anyone else.
When I go to the toilet and find some litter I always pick up that
litter without anyone seeing me and throw it away. When you make a
habit of that, the difference will show up later on. Don't only do your
own share, but be interested in others doing as well as you. Then, you
will really contribute to the effort of the whole class.
I recently came back to Morning Garden after being gone for four
years, and immediately I could tell whether the caretaker of this house
had been doing a good job or had been neglecting the small things. In
the boat it is the same. I never look at the boats on the first day
out. On the first day, everyone is meticulous, but the day you finish
is when I go to take a look. Some of the boats are really messy by
then. The boat which is as clean on the last day as it is on the first
day is the winner.
I have that strong standard of judgement in everything. Recently, I
was looking through a machine shop. There were veterans of twenty and
thirty years working there. I gave them some very strict comments, but
each time, they were humble to what I said because they had only
thought so far and not beyond that. They recognized that I had thought
way beyond their thinking. This impressed them.
People who build boats think they build pretty good boats, but I go
through their shop and pin-point things they had not thought about. Not
a single point is a mistake on my part. I apply this kind of serious
thought to everything. For example, the Washington Times
newspaper won twenty awards this year in an international
competition. Not just one, but twenty awards, and it's just beginning,
just in its first few years of existence. This did not come about by
accident. The people at the Washington Times know it was my
serious attitude which produced this result. They don't think they
could have put such a thing together on their own.
Basically, this tuna fishing is not just to go out and get the tuna
and make some money. That is not the central point at all. This is good
basic training for the rest of your life. If you apply the principles
you learn faithfully, you can make a success out of your life. Do you
understand? Like anything else you do in your life, you have to put a
lot of time in. Study everything, discuss it with others and read it
again, then put in concentrated effort.
Actually, I didn't have the time to come here, but I felt so much
that I wanted to give you a good start, so I came yesterday and went
fishing at four o'clock in the morning. Today I am here with you.
Tomorrow I may go out too, but that will be the last day. I cannot stay
with you all summer, so please, do your best. The last ten years, I
devoted every single day of the season out on the ocean. Rain or shine,
I went out. Literally, rain or shine. There were storm warnings and
still I went out. One time there was a storm coming and everyone could
see it clearly, but in the middle of the night I said, "Let's go." The
captain obeyed and we went out. I've gone out in the midst of a
frenzied ocean and endured it. And then, in the morning I came back in,
having won over that.
While I was in the boat waiting for the tuna to come, I thought over
and over again of the providence in America and planned what to do. I
thought about the problem of world hunger and planned what to do step
by step. I didn't just think one or two years ahead, not like that.
Instead, I thought about hundreds of years to come and what to do to
prepare for that. I thought about how to farm the tuna and how it could
be nurtured and used for millions of pounds of nutritional food in the
future. I thought like that all the time. There is nothing that I
didn't think of in the long hours while I was waiting for the tuna to
come.
Every morning I went out, no matter how early. I was always full of
hope and expectation for that day. I came back when the sun was
setting, returning with elation that I had done my very best for that
day and wondering what the next day had in store for me. I expect you
to take pride and to go the same path that I have gone. You are now
privileged to tread the very same path that I have walked these past
ten years.
Everything you do here is directly involved with me. Many things I
have invented myself. I have paved the road and pioneered everything
for you. Take that as your pride, and just as every rock along the
pathway has witnessed what I have done, so your footsteps will also be
recorded. All that we do has a deep religious significance. Don't just
go out and catch fish like other fishermen, tie it up and bring it
home. Please don't fish like this, not in any way like this.
This is a very precious opportunity. Don't be discouraged. Do you
think that in my time of fishing there were moments that were
difficult? Sure, there were. There were up times, and down times of
doubt and worry. When you are very happy and elated, when you are
catching the tuna, think of what kind of experience I had in the same
moment. Would I have just thought about getting one more tuna, or would
I have been happy because one more aspect of creation, of the world,
was coming under the influence of God's love?
You have to relate the experiences you have to how I would have
thought and experienced things when I was fishing. The success of your
own mission is tied to all the other One Hope boats. Not just
in area, but wherever they are, all along the coast, even down into
America. When you are operating the Good Go boat think to
yourself, "We made this boat with our own hands. Brothers and sisters
made this boat." Also realize that we will make larger boats with our
own hands as well. Someday there will be hundreds of ocean-going
vessels that we will have made with our own hands.
These dreams all began here. They are realized here. The New
Hope and the Flying Phoenix were the modest beginning of
the future fishing fleet which will go all over the world. The first
time I put my foot into Gloucester they all rose up against me. In a
sense, it was ridiculous because they didn't know me at all. Anyway, in
ten years they have seen more of us and they know how hard we are
working to make the fishing industry successful in the future. Now,
some are thinking, "What if Reverend Moon were to quit now like we once
kept telling him to?"
Reviving the Fishing Tradition
In the very beginning, tuna was only ten cents per pound, when I
first started. Now it is over $4.00 per pound, going up to $5.00 per
pound and someday it will reach $10.00 or $20.00 per pound. You will
see that day. If we can farm the fish, hundreds of fishermen can hope
to make a good living out of tuna fishing. I have been paying the price
for that to happen, literally. Our movement has invested millions of
dollars to bring the foundation up to this level. We lost all that
money in a real sense. It was just a sacrifice in order to bring things
to this point.
The middle men who exploited the whole situation were really angry
when I came on the scene. However, the fishermen know a different
story and many have come to care about us. Not all of them see what is
going on. Many fishermen don't look very far beyond their own boat, but
some even love us and look for us to come each year.
The consumer will come to find out about tuna and they will begin to
like it very much. Just last year, the price began at $1.25 per pound
and it went up to $3.00 per pound. The buyers were upset about that,
but you know how hard the fishermen work. They get up so early every
morning and face the difficult weather. Did the buyer ever have to work
so hard? No. They have never worked like that, yet they get most of the
profit. That is why the fishermen really loved what we did. Because we
paid more, the other middle men had to pay more too; they lost some of
their profit margin. They are the only ones who complained. We wanted
more of the margin to go to the ones who worked for it. That was our
motivation. Those middle men don't have the right to take what belongs
to the fishermen. Someone had to come in and fix that situation.
At one time Gloucester was a great export city for cod and other
kinds of fish. When I came here the situation had gone so low that many
fishermen didn't leave until the afternoon. They didn't even get up
until noon! I really wanted to bring back the spirit of Gloucester. I
wanted to change it. So, I started going out very early in the morning,
as early as 4:00 a.m., and I would bring back a tuna by 9:00 a.m. This
motivated them to start going out earlier.
When I saw they were leaving by 4:00 and 5:00 a.m., I started
leaving at 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. When some of them even challenged that, I
determined not to even leave the tuna grounds and just stay awake all
night long on the boat. However, no one left earlier than 2:00 a.m.,
and so they gave up in a spiritual sense. Also, they had larger boats
and they thought they were better because they had more expensive
equipment. We proved it is not the size of the boat which brings
success; it is the spirit of the man. We proved that.
After a few years of fishing, something like a morning ritual began
to occur. In the early morning there would be a tuna strike and
everyone's eyes would go searching to see which boat had dropped
anchor. They would look for the red anchor ball and see which boat was
moving away. Almost every morning, the first boat was a Moonie boat.
We had fewer boats than all the other boats. Out of proportion to the
number of boats we had, and the number of boats in the entire fleet, we
came up with the first catch in the morning. This is the tradition
which we built up with our own effort. Don't disregard this. I don't
want to hear, "Well, Reverend Moon didn't come fishing this year so the
Moonie boats are only doing a mediocre job." I don't want to hear
that. They are thinking that we will be discouraged because I am going
to jail. Why should we do less this year than any other year? Why
should we be outdone this season? After ten years, we have built up the
standard. Now, we can go way beyond that. Will you keep the standard
really tight, or will you be defeated this year? How? How will you keep
the standard? You have to catch up with my spirit. Whatever you do, do
it in my spirit.
The essence is this: put all your heart into it. Talk to God and
talk to the tuna. For the sake of the world, for the sake of God, do
everything with all your heart. For ten years, we have fought against
injustice. We have fought here in Gloucester and now we are beginning
to win. Morning Garden has been returned to us, the fishermen are
beginning to understand us and the mayor has apologized for
Gloucester's earlier unfair treatment towards us. In all these ways, we
have won a victory.
We have fought on all three coastlines. When we started building
steel boats in Alabama, 3,000 people came and demonstrated against us.
At that time, there were thirty-one other shipyards. Now, what has
happened? We are the only ones to survive there and we continue to
contribute to the economy there. Can you believe that? It has only been
five to six years since we began working there. If we hadn't gone
there, no one would have survived the crisis.
It was the same way in Alaska. Everything we try to do, the people
come and try to stop us, but they have no real reason to do so. You can
imagine how it is for me to hear all the reports coming in from
everywhere in the United States. Every report that came in when we
first started something was very bad.
I have put so much energy into this country. Our movement has
invested so much time and money, bringing so much from all over the
world and investing it into the United States. I often thought I should
give up everything and go invest in someplace else. However, since God
truly wants to use America, I have persevered. Everything I have done
in this country began under full opposition. No one tried to understand
or help me. Still, I have gained a tremendous foundation to uplift
America. And you are Americans. You will inherit all this. No one will
oppose you as they have opposed me.
They will welcome you. From now on, people will begin to see our
motivation more clearly. We will win every fight. We have that
foundation. First, you must save your nation. Second, you have to
secure the future of the ocean. There used to be at least forty large
fishing vessels working out of Gloucester. Now, there are only a few.
There is no hope in this country for the ocean. We are bringing hope to
this nation.
You cannot complain about anything. You are inheriting everything.
The ocean has a great and wonderful future. I know it. You believe it.
Who is that future for? For whom? For us? For America. You came here,
not because of your leader, but because God was calling you. You are
here because of God's calling. You have to know how special it is to be
here. Don't complain about being here.
I have already endured this course. I have already invested long and
tedious hours. Not for myself. I didn't do it for myself. I did it for
you. I know young people will come here every year. I did everything
for the sake of the young people of America. You represent those young
people. You have to receive and inherit all these things from me. If
you complain, you won't be able to get what I am giving to you. I am
concerned about this.
The One Hope is made with everything equipped to catch a
tuna. It was made for you! I don't need all those boats. I designed
them with you in mind. Before you came, I was working hour after hour.
Will you go this course? Will you do everything that I am asking you to
do this summer? Think about the tradition that I laid down here with my
own sweat and tears. Everyday, working on the boat, I was thinking
about you.
I spent ten years preparing everything for you. From now we really
have to go out on the ocean and inherit everything that is there. It is
there waiting for you. If you miss this point, you will miss something
great in the future. I have been so serious to make the standard -- for
you! Please remember this. If you don't make a foundation, then someone
else will come and take it from you.
I did not pioneer all these areas for that. I have pioneered
Gloucester, the Gulf and now Alaska. Many people already stayed here,
but they never thought about my effort. No matter how early, I woke up
and worked hard all day. Many young people would never work as hard. If
you Americans don't take this from me, I will give it to the Japanese.
If they don't want it, I will bring Korean members to inherit
everything. If they don't, I will get the blessed children and make
them take the inheritance. Do you understand? Are you clear about this
point? Do you know what I mean?
From this moment, make up your mind. We start the program from this
moment. Each day is a step towards the future. May God bless you.
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