His father was a lifelong scalloper, his uncles are fishermen, and 23-year-old Chris Pinto realized as he got older that fishing is "in my blood." It just didn’t look like it was in his future.
His father, Paul, died in June in an accident on his boat, which was carrying too much debt for his family to keep.
But a charity for military veterans, and a boat donated by Westport lobsterman Tim Field, are giving Pinto a chance at a career he thought he’d never have.
On Friday, the Work Vessels for Veterans charity presented a 39-foot-long fishing boat to Pinto, a veteran of two tours in Iraq as an infantryman. Pinto is joining the National Guard — and expects to leave for Afghanistan next year — so he can pay for a commercial lobsterman’s license.