fisherman n
   1 Phr fisherman follows the fish: indicating the fisherman's right to receive payment (or credit) for the catch before other disbursement of money by the merchant.
   1966 GUNN 6 The hired fishermen claimed the right to 'follow' the planter's fish and oil into the hands of his supplier, the produce of the voyage being by law...subject in the first place to payment of wages. 1984 Encyclopedia of Nfld i, p. 271-2 The expression 'follow the fish' refers to the custom of a person engaged in the fisheries, having the right to ensure payment for his services, by a claim on the fish and oil. 1986 SIDER 52 Servants' wages were thus given first lien on the catch even when the merchant possessed the fish. In the oft-repeated words of Newfoundland courts, servants had the right to 'follow the fish' to the merchant, and their wages must be paid in full before any other creditor could be satisfied.
   2 Attrib, comb fisherman's brewis, fisherman logger: one who divides his seasonal work between 'summer fishery' and 'woods work' in winter, ~'s ticket: reduced fare offered on coastal boat to those engaged in the Labrador fishery.
   1949 FITZGERALD 79 (Let epicures scoff if they choose);/ Cod's tongues, pickled sounds or fresh salmon, or a plate full of fisherman's brewis. 1987 Evening Telegram 21 Mar, p. 5 There was no time to go home for supper, so Mother brought it down to the stage--a great huge pot of fishermen's brewis. 1981 SPARKES 183 To the fishermen-loggers [spring] was like a resurrection. 1988 Evening Telegram 18 May, p. 19 The fishermen's ticket was a specially reduced rate that fishermen paid on the Labrador boat.

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