Kerry Hurst started fishing at 17, working with his uncle. After 30 years on the water, his message is clear, “I have a lot of gratitude to be doing what I’m doing, and the way I express it is by being a good steward of the fish we catch. Whenever we fish a reef we’ll catch a few, then move off to the next reef. When we catch fish, we make sure we maintain a quality product. One thing my uncle taught me as a young man is that a quality product creates its own demand. We try to live by that.”

Constructed by Master Marine Construction, Inc in 1984, the Alleluia displaces 76 gross tons and is 57 ft in length. Originally built for purse seine operations, it was redesigned in 2011 for the snapper fishery after the ban on net fishing in Florida. Although the vessel can hold 15,000 lbs, it typically carries no more than 7,000 lbs as the trips are kept short (2-3 days each) to maintain the quality of the fish. It’s a busy vessel though, and sometimes the crew of 4 is working 20 hours a day.