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I agree, it is a love story.
I liked that Santiago has a zen-like relationship with the sea: he fights, bleeds to bring in this fish, his brother whom he loves, and though he hates the sharks that rob him of his prize, at the same time he concedes that they too deserve to live and eat (he'd just rather they did so on somebody else's fish).
Yes, yes, he kills many of the sharks, just as an avowed pacifist may fight, even kill when mortally threatened. This is a law of nature, this life-and-death struggle. He does not see the sharks as killing (eating) machines that do not deserve to live, but rather beings with the same right to struggle for survival as himself or the marlin. They just happened to pick an adversary that was more powerful than they and were defeated, often as not fatally.
As for the method of fishing: that is a very valid and oft-used way of catching a meal. I myself have fished for crab using a similar method: tie a line around a piece of chicken, toss it into the bayou, and wait for the tell-tale tugs of a crab eating. It is not just a matter of reeling it in-- one must gently bring them close to shore without them realizing that you are doing so. Getting control of the animal before it realizes that there is danger. It is not easy, and it requires patience and concentration and even recklessness (and a mistake can not only cost you your lunch, but also some blood, LOL).
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