# The most hazardous of all occupations



## mattarosa (Mar 19, 2006)

I have just been reading an article which rounds up a considerable body of research to prove that merchant seafaring and trawler fishing are the most hazardous of occupations. I'm sure this isn't news to any of us, we see posts here of trawlers that are in trouble or lost too often, but I was still shocked by the statistics.

Between 1976 and 1995 the annual death rate for fishermen was 103 per 100,000 workers - that's 51 times the rate for all workers in the same period.
If you think this is bad, international comparisons are quite breathtaking - the fatal accident rates for Alaskan, Australian and Danish fishermen per 100,000 per year were 116, 143 and 145.

The writer believes that improvements are possible, and there have been some, though researchers in a study by Oxford University in 2002 still found that people working at sea are up to 50 times more likely to die while working compared to people doing other jobs

The writer concludes that 
"A combination of battling against unpredictable elements in vessels of varying quality, crewed by individuals of different competencies and wellness, means seafaring has always been a hazardous way of earning a living."

I wonder how much this is appreciated by all of us as we tuck into our fish and chips, though I guess it is appreciated more here than elsewhere.

Hilary


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## JimC (Nov 8, 2007)

mattarosa said:


> I have just been reading an article which rounds up a considerable body of research to prove that merchant seafaring and trawler fishing are the most hazardous of occupations. I'm sure this isn't news to any of us, we see posts here of trawlers that are in trouble or lost too often, but I was still shocked by the statistics.
> 
> Between 1976 and 1995 the annual death rate for fishermen was 103 per 100,000 workers - that's 51 times the rate for all workers in the same period.
> If you think this is bad, international comparisons are quite breathtaking - the fatal accident rates for Alaskan, Australian and Danish fishermen per 100,000 per year were 116, 143 and 145.
> ...


Actually Hillary; the writer's final conclusion could be applied equally to any type of industry where the participants have the same attitudes to work and personnel safety.
I spent a number of years as Harbour Master of a fishing port and during that time was witness to a few of these very sad fishing boat tragedies. However I'm sure there are many like me who have seen ill-equipped boats with ill-trained individuals manning them venturing out in poor conditions with an horrendous forecast. In most cases I saw; the accident happened in inshore waters. The big problem was young lads with little or no experience of being in charge or even owning a boat before - buying a 10m. high powered boat and a few hundred creels. The lure was a fast buck rather than a career. I even witnessed the case where two individuals had to be rescued by the local life boat after their 28 ft. boat ran aground on rocks in a force 12. They were lucky. They had no VHF, no lifesaving gear. The LB Crew nearly came a cropper saving them. Their mitigating cir***stance was that their cell phone battery ran out! Unfortunately all of these types are classed as professional fishermen and included in the casualty numbers.
Conversely; The family tradition type of professional fishermen have much fewer accidents. 
By its very nature, fishing has always been a risky business but the continuing high level of casualties does not equate to the reduction in the number of men giving-up fishing and the reduction in the sizes of the fishing fleets. I hate to say it but a great deal more regulation is needed at that end of the trade and less cash thrown at it by well meaning but totally out of touch Government offices such as Local Enterprise and Local Authority groups.


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## mattarosa (Mar 19, 2006)

JimC said:


> Actually Hillary; the writer's final conclusion could be applied equally to any type of industry where the participants have the same attitudes to work and personnel safety.
> 
> Jim
> Thank you for that experienced and balanced view. I work in the construction industry, where safety is taken extremely seriously and yet, courtesy of cowboys and countries where life is valued less by employers than here, my industry has a bad reputation too.
> Hilary


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## John Rogers (May 11, 2004)

Firemen and Police are also well up in the stats.

John.


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## ssr481 (Feb 2, 2008)

I once read that the most hazardous profession was that of a crewman on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier... still, any occupation where one does things above and beyond, be it on a fishing boat, shrimper, or any top deck profession is dangerous..


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## Santos (Mar 16, 2005)

Anyone these days who give service to the public, be it personal service, Teachers, Police, Firemen, Ambulance, Social Services or indirect service by providing - Fishermen, Mariners, Airline Pilots etc all bear the brunt of public behaviour and are open to assault and murder. 

Drugs and mental problems are one of the main causes, greed another and the uncontrolled actions of the youth of today leaves one baffled as to why punishments dont mirror the seriousness of the crime and someone says enough is enough, we are not standing for this anymore.

The courts and the people who administer justice are a joke - handing out sentences which do nothing to deter anyone and leave the majority of people speechless and with a feeling of hopelessness. 

As for human rights, what happened to the 75 years old pensioners human rights when he / she was beaten to death by an intruder, who when caught, wasnt given a custodial sentence because his human rights could be affected as he had a rough childhood.


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## pier (Apr 22, 2008)

fishermen job is very good but when is bad w
eather is not very good


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## crazy viking (Sep 3, 2009)

hi most ex fisherman from grimsby and hull now have healh problems through working in the cold and wet all the time including myself


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