In dories, skiffs, and seiners, fishermen chased herring through moonless nights among the wild offshore islands. Sometimes, when the phosphorescence in the water was firing and the stars were lost behind thick clouds, whales appeared like glowing locomotives beneath the boats, and the herring were shimmering clouds of light. Deep in the night, with surf close at hand, fishermen worked for the one good set that could spell the difference between lean...