Otto Fiskmann

Otto Fiskmann, was the founder of Fiskmann & Wheaton and father of modern fishing on the island of Byrne. Born in 1896 on the island of Byrne to Immigrant parents, his mother hailing from Ireland and his father Germany. Growing up on the island he dreamed of fishing with his father, which he started doing at 16 in 1912. When WW1 broke out he went back to Germany to fight for his father's homeland. He was awarded an Iron Cross for his actions during the War. At the battle of Verdun, he was captured and sent off to England in a POW camp. Upon finding out he was a Doggish national was released. When he returned to the island he brought back his wife, Elizabeth Wheaton, the daughter of Lord Wheaton. They had fallen in love during his time at the camp where she was the nurse. They eloped in 1921 and his son, Jeremiah, was born in 1937. When they returned to Doggerland he took up his job in the fishing industry until 1940, when a trolley was sunk by German U-boat mistaken for a British destroyer. The island he called home had fallen into ruin during the war but, he remained vigilant joining the Doggish Coast Gaurd in 1942 as a Captain, the rank he had in the German Army, where he was put in charge of the island's defenses. In 1948, he founded his company from the money his father-in-law left his wife after her death in the blitz of 1940. This company, Fiskmann & Wheaton, became the saving grace for the island in the post-war era, single-handedly rebuilding the economy. He later expanded the company onto Barretti and the mainland in 1958 and 1963 respectfully. He stepped down and CEO in 1975 and died in 1978. He became the honorary leader of the Lobster Party, the left-wing Party of the Fisherman's Union, in 1976 until his death for his role in rebuilding the industry in the south.