廖鴻基崛起台灣文壇，是一個異數。他在成為職業討海人之前，曾經投入政治運動之中，擔任過花蓮縣議員服務處的助理，也曾受邀赴印尼養蝦，最後選擇了討海人的生涯。這些經歷，都與一般台灣作家的養成習慣殊異；他在成為漁人之後的第二年，就以〈丁挽〉一文獲得時報文學獎散文類評審獎，此後連連獲得文壇獎項，1996年出版他的第一本散文集《討海人》，記錄他的討海經驗，確立了他作為台灣海洋作家的地位。之後，他的生命腳跡改以漁船為工作船，轉而從事海上鯨豚調查；接著的賞鯨活動規劃、推動，執行許多海上計畫，以及一段段遠航經歷，真像是走上了一段無暇回首的海洋階梯。之間，或許曾經停步，想要回來沿海，但形勢所趨，似乎只能一步步斜向海洋繼續前行。不停走出去，航出去，直到二十年多年後的今天（2011年），停下來喘口氣時，忽然覺得有必要回到過去，回到當初涉海的起點。為了記錄自己的生命腳跡，廖鴻基走到哪裡就寫到哪裡，目前他已完成包括《討海人》在內的18本作品。綜觀廖鴻基這輩子與海的關係，起自自我放逐流浪到海邊，而後登沿海漁船捕魚，接著，航行於近海，再進一步越洋遠航。並不刻意，但回頭看時，竟然一步步完全符合人類向海發展的步履，從潮間帶而沿海而近海而遠洋，一步步竟然完全符合人類海洋文化拓展的模式。

Rising of Liao, Hung-chi in Taiwan literature field is distinct. Before he became a professional fisherman, he had joined the political movement and served as the assistant at the councilor's office in Hualien County. He was also invited to breed shrimps in Indonesia; at last he chose to start the career as a fisherman. His experience differed from the formed habits of the general Taiwanese writers. After the second year he had became a fisherman, his article-Dingwan which let he obtain the Juror Award in the prose type from the Literature Award of Times. Afterwards, he continuously received awards in the literary field. In 1996, his first prose book-Fisherman was published. The book recorded his fishing experience and enabled him to turn into a writer of Taiwanese ocean. After that, his footprints of life reached to the fishing boat as working boat and he was engaged in the survey of whales and dolphins at sea. He planned and propelled the whale-watching activity. He carried out many plans about the sea and experienced much long navigation, as if he went up the sea stairs without looking back. In the middle of his process, perhaps he would stop or return to the coastland, however, owing to the situation, he could only oblique to the sea and move forward. He went out and sailed out without stopping for twenty years until today (Year 2011). When he stopped to take a rest, he suddenly realized that it was necessary for him to go back to the beginning of the fishing. In order to record his footprints of life, LIAO, Hung-chi jotted down wherever he went. So far, he has already finished the eighteen books including "Fisherman." Reviewing the relationship between LIAO, Hung-chi's life and the sea, which was self-exile from the seashore to the fishing boat; and from coasting to the ocean is unintentional. By retrospection, from the tidal flat, along the coast, offshore, to the ocean, his every step was in accordance with the step and mode of human beings' development and expansion towards the sea and its culture.