Fishing about and about fishing

 

LOST AT SEA

This is the e-version of M. Ben-Yami Column published in WORLD FISHING, March 2000, as "There are no excuses for orphans' tears".

 

Cry, little baby, cry.

 Your father went to sea.

 Your father won't return.

 It's now you and me.

 

 

Bad news have their special way with fishing people and their families: they keep coming, and coming, and coming. Usually, it's a one-way traffic, the addressee being a suddenly bereaved family.

 

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), said in its 1999 report (*) that every year some 24,000 fish workers of all sorts get killed on the job. In 1996, in the U.S.A., there were 16 times more such deaths than among fire-fighters or police, and 40 times the national average. In Denmark, between 1989 and 1996, 25 to 30 sea-going fishermen died on the job for each worker employed on land. In Guinea, a country with some 7,000 artisanal fishermen each year about one of every 200 fishermen dies in a canoe accident. Four hundred fishermen die every year in accidents in China while in Tunisia the rate of fatal accidents among fishermen is almost double the average for other industries. Among the FAO-estimated 28M fishworkers worldwide, 24M non-fatal accidents occur yearly.

 

These huge, persisting, but impersonal figures don't seem to be bringing home to the public attention the monstrosity of the risks fishing people are taking, daily and nightly. Sometimes, however, a disaster strikes close to home, so close that makes both, the society and the authorities concerned to wake up. And this is not about canoe fishermen and other fishing people sailing in primitive craft in areas without effective search-and-rescue services, and year on year off killed by their hundreds by tropical cyclones, typhoons, and hurricanes.

 

This is about the loss off the Cornish coast of the "Harbour Lights", a 24-footer that sank last month with young Daniel Kebble of Polperro. I'm writing about the unexplained sinking of the dredger/trawler "Solway Harvester" off the Isle of Man, which went down with the skipper Craig Mills and 6 crews, all from the Isle of Whithorn, SW Scotland. There were 3 Millses in the crew... And about the "Two Friends", a Portland-based 60-footer that sank on Jan. 25 off the coast of Maine, USA, with the loss of two. And the "Cape Fear", and 4 other clammers which went down last year off the NE coast of USA, killing many of their crews. And of the "Michelle and Joyce", a 70-foot trawler out of Fairhaven, Mass., which went ablaze in 40-knot winds and 18-foot seas in the infamous Pollock Rip, her 5 crews surviving by the skin of their teeth in a life raft.

 

Just a few months before, in Arabian Sea, 11 Pakistani fishermen sank with their vessel "Al-ahooti", and of a 40-years old boat went down with 6 crews in rough seas off Land's End, Cornwall. Then, there was a Faroese-owned factory trawler that sank in the Indian Ocean taking with her 25 S.African crews.

 

And so on, and so on, all over the world's sea and oceans. Almost a routine. Several newspaper items, a few larger features, a couple of 15-second TV interviews with survivors, friends and widows. The world keeps turning and fishing people keep dying. Unfortunately, the problems of safety and health of the world's 28 million male and female fishworkers have failed to generate much action on the part of national authorities, international organizations and, sadly, on the fish workers themselves. No doubt, there's the tragedy of official default to initiate action, to train, to legislate, enact and implement rules and regulations, and to invest the funds for enforcement, and for establishment or strenghtening of services able to reduce the numbers of casualties an fatalities. But there's more than just that, much more.

 

While rough weather is most often blamed as the cause of boats sinking and fishermen death, the, so-called human factors are also responsible. They can be divided into 2 main categories: those resulting from ignoring rules and regulations, bad judgement and irresponsible decisions made by skippers and other fishermen, insufficient skills and lack of professional knowledge, etc.

 

The other category is inherent in the structure of some fisheries, such as economic pressure on the crews forcing them to work under conditions of permanent fatigue, bad weather and outdated equipment, in poorly maintained boats, some too old to brave open seas. There's also, according to ILO, "slow but growing trend towards placing large fishing vessels in open registers, some of which have had historically high casualty rates". Thus, of all vessels built between 1991 and 1995 some 15% sail under flags of convenience (FOC), and 15% is also the share of FOCa among high tonnage vessels and their numbers are rising.

 

One reason for the trend towards registering ships under FOCs is the steady ageing of the fishing fleet: in 1995 nearly half of all fishing vessels were more than 20 years old, and FOC enables ship owners to sidestep safety regulations. Among other reasons are freedom to employ cheap often badly trained labour, "beating" fishery management limitations, and minimisation or outright evasion of taxes.

 

There's a problem of attitude. For example, the only "Two Friends" survivor said that, before the vessel left the harbour, he was concerned of a compartment that was not watertight, although the trawler "was in good shape for a 30-year-old vessel".The boat's operator was made aware, and "intended to make repairs later". They all knew about the problem, but in the words of the surviving fisherman, were "pressured to get out there and make some money." Who's to blame for the decision to sail?

 

Another example: in Alaska, a 35-years old fishing vessel was found on inspection with almost totally inoperable rescue equipment. She was stopped from sailing till faults corrected. If not for the inspection, she'd have sailed on and on till the bitter end. Were there any sanctions taken against the responsible? Who was responsible?

 

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When, long time ago, at an age of 23 I became a skipper, a man of the sea that I respected told me: you're now a skipper. When and where to take your boat and whether she's fit for sea is your decision. Where to shoot and when to haul the gear is your decision. You're in command - in absolute command. You can take advice, but all decisions are your. Whatever happens on board is your responsibility. You are taking the boat out to fish, and you must bring her back, desirably, with catch. But remember: no amount of catch can pay for widows tears and orphans' broken hearts.

 

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Economic pressure, competitive spirit, and even owner's threats are no excuse for taking out a vessel, which isn't fully seaworthy, for overloading a boat, or for not having prescribed safety and first-help equipment on board, all in good condition. There are no excuses for taking dangerous chances with the sea, either that the fishing is good or the that the hold is empty and you got to get something to land...

 

Friends, do take from time to time a look at the stormy sea that has already taken away colleagues, friends, and relatives and give a thought to the risks you take and remember that it can happen to you, too.

 

It is a common knowledge that in many countries skippers, especially in the smaller vessels, are not required to undergo serious training and be certified. It is a common knowledge that old, rusty buckets that long deserve scrapping are kept afloat and fishing for a whole series of reasons, their safety and seaworthiness below a reasonable level.

 

The owner of the 30-years old "Two Friends" had another even older boat, the "Kate & Shawn". In this fishery, some fishermen now own two boats, each allowed 88 fishing days. Thus they are able to double their fishing days and better support their families, and they try to do it in winter, when the market prices are high, and the weather worse. With limited expense funds such two old boats often get less maintenance than needed.

 

In the USA alone, it is estimated that the human lives and vessels lost in accidents in the fishing industry amount to financial losses of $240M, three times more than such losses in the oil industry. These figures do not include, however, indirect costs such as, for example, sea rescue and the search for vessels in distress, not to speak about "collateral" damage and "external" costs. Even the best assessor can't put dollar value to the broken hearts, rivers of tears, interrupted careers and education, and tragedies among the bereaved families, and all the other things that are beyond an accountant's ability to evaluate.

 

Accidents don't just occur. They're caused. Well, some perhaps couldn't be avoided. But many could. A late colleague of mine once said: "it takes a lot of guts to keep fishing in a really bad weather, but sometimes it takes even more guts to be the first to haul the gear and run to the harbour". He was a highliner, but he died in his bed.

 

 

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 (*) Safety and health in the Fishing Industry, by Brandt Wagner.

 (International Labour Organization/Sectoral Activities Programme),

 ILO, Geneva. 1999. 100 pp.

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