When is a fruit a fishing death sentence?
Black Wake says ‘No Bananas!’
We go bananas for fishing but there’s absolutely no bananas allowed on Black Wake’s vessel, the Alma Hermosa. Why?
This maritime lore has been passed on from seafarer to seafarer for centuries. Many anglers and fishing boat captains still refuse to have bananas—or even products with banana branding, like sunscreen—on their boats today, viewing them as a curse on fishing success. Some trace the lineage to the 1700, before Wi-Fi and radar, when wooden ships sailed the Caribbean, hauling bananas to Europe. These voyages were fraught with peril – storms, shipwrecks, crew members falling ill, and the dreaded spoilage of precious cargo. It’s no wonder that bananas, often the only fruit left floating amidst the wreckage, became associated with misfortune.
Scientifically, bananas release Ethylene (Ethene) gas as they age and turn brown. This gas, while harmless on its own, wreaked havoc on other fruits and vegetables, accelerating their decay and turning the hold into a putrid mess. In the days before refrigeration, this could spell disaster for a ship’s food stores. The next time you’re in the market, pay attention to where they place high-ethylene-producing fruits like bananas, apples, pears, avocados, or mangos.
Pests and Danger: Bananas carried in the hold of ships often attracted venomous spiders and snakes, which could escape and threaten the crew.
Rapid Spoilage/Fermentation: Bananas ripen quickly, emitting ethylene gas, which caused them to spoil faster and could ferment, potentially releasing explosive methane gas in the hold, according to some reports.
Lost Fishing Time: Historically, ships transporting bananas needed to travel at high speeds to prevent the fruit from spoiling before reaching their destination. This meant crews did not have time to stop or slow down to fish, leading to the belief that the fruit meant a "no fish" day.
Shipwrecks and Floating Cargo: Because bananas were a common cargo and float, they were often found floating amongst the wreckage of sunken ships. This led to the superstitious association that the fruit caused the sinking.
English Folklore: Early traders reported that the fruits were associated with bad luck, often forbidding them from being on board to prevent ruined trips.
I’ll tell you our own story of this banana theory. Before the Alma Hermosa was part of Black Wake Sportfishing, neighbor Wayne asked to go fishing one summer’s day. Now, he has his own boats but like any boat, it’s always better with friends. This was early in the season and we knew there were fish. We had been marking them as early as April. We could see them on the fish-finder but couldn’t get one on the boat for the life of us. Josh joked and said he couldn’t even buy a fish! Neighbor Wayne asks me to get his lunch box, probably figured that this would be a good time as any to have a snack. He opens it up and our hearts sank but there was also a sense of relief. There in his little red cooler were three perfectly yellow bananas. The reason why we couldn’t catch a fish!
Josh literally had Wayne consume all three bananas immediately and low and behold, Wayne’s next cast caught him his first striped bass of the season.
Safe to say, Wayne learned why there’s no bananas allowed.
..we got him a t-shirt so he wouldn’t forget