In Ether 1:33–36, we learned of two men; Jared and the brother of Jared. We were not given any particular details as to why these two men are the preeminent actors in the beginning of the book of Ether. We must hypothesize.
We see Jared’s name consistently, and just as consistently, the absence of a name for the brother of Jared. Nevertheless, it is clear that the brother of Jared is the prophet. This information suggests that Jared is the clan leader, the recognized head of the family and groups of families. His brother functions as the prophet. Although modern readers often associate the leader and the prophet as the same person, that was not always the case in the ancient world. It was frequent in the Old Testament that there would be a recognized leader, a king during the time of Hebrew kingship, and then an advisor who would be the one able to discern the will of God.
That appears to be the relationship we see between Jared, his brother, and the people that form their community. These people will become identified with the person who establishes them as a new people; they will become Jaredites. The political position of leadership will continue through Jared. His brother serves an important function, but it is his importance as a conduit between his people and God that serves to define him. His continuing lineage will not play a known part in the later history of the Jaredite people.
As these new Jaredites prepare to travel, they gather what they will need for the journey. There is some small disconnect between this description and the specific timing of events, because we are told that they gather fish to keep in a vessel so that they could take fish with them (verse 2). We have yet to be told that they arrived at a shore, or were commanded to build vessels. The point of these verses is the travel preparation, not the precise timing of their travels.
It is interesting that the wreck of a Roman vessel has been found (in 1986) that has tank-like structures that appear to have been used for transporting live fish. While the Roman period is long after the date of the Jaredites, it nevertheless suggests that such an idea did appear in antiquity. Finding that one vessel was a spectacular find, and the absence of finding earlier ones just as easily suggests the lack of preservation of those ships.