The fishery has never been more popular in the mainstream media.
Several television shows, highlighting various segments of the fishing industry, are attracting millions of viewers each week. Network executives and producers have caught on that the fishing industry makes for good reality television — it has everything viewers are looking for; stunning backdrops, interesting and memorable characters, excitement and suspense, sprinkled with a touch of danger.
For the couch-sitting, channel-surfing types, watching fishermen ply their trade in some of the most dangerous workplaces in the world is great entertainment value. But hopefully, through these shows, viewers also take away the inherent danger fishermen face each and every day in prosecuting this multi-billion dollar industry.
Take note, this is still one of the most dangerous professions in the world.
Despite all of the safety training and equipment advances the fishing industry has made over the last few decades, on average, there is still one fishery-related fatality each month in Canada.
According to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), an average of 134 fishing vessel accidents per year was reported between 2009 and 2013, which together comprised 40 per cent of all marine accidents.
In 2012, the TSB released a report on its Safety Issues Investigation into Fishing Safety in Canada.
The report stated “fish harvesting carries risks and the reality is that a wide range of safety deficiencies persists. In particular, fatalities in occurrences such as those involving Cap Rouge II, Hope Bay, Ryan’s Commander, Melina and Keith II, Lannie & Sisters II, Big Sister, Craig and Justin, Silver Angel, and Marie J, show that vessel stability, crew training, unsafe operating practices, and carriage of immersion suits require greater attention. Every time the TSB investigates an occurrence, it issues findings as to causes and contributing factors. But many of these factors are bigger than any one event: they are systemic problems, which need systemic solutions. Concerns also remain about issues such as vessel modifications and their impact on stability; the use and availability of lifesaving equipment; regulatory oversight; and the impact of fishery resource management plans and practices on the overall safety of fishing vessels.”
It would be naive to think that even with continued training, equipment and regulatory improvements, the element of danger will ever be eliminated from the fishery. But perhaps more attention should be focused on fundamental industry changes that might heighten safety risk factors.
One of these fundamental changes involves a change or transition from one species to another.
According to a report by Memorial University’s M. J. S. Windle, B. Neis, S. Bornstein and P. Navarro, entitled Fishing Occupational Health and Safety: A Comparative Analysis of Regulatory Regimes, such fishing practice changes can lead to increased safety risks.
The report stated “In response to a perceived high rate of fishing incidents in Newfoundland in the late 1990s, the Canadian Coast Guard conducted a fishing vessel safety review in 2000 that incorporated SAR data and DFO fisheries data from 1993 to 1999 to highlight trends in safety (DFO, 2000). The review concluded that injury rates, workers compensation claims, and Search and Rescue (SAR) incidents appeared to be on the rise in the Newfoundland fishing industry and correlated with a shift in target species from inshore groundfish to primarily offshore shellfish.”
The MUN study revealed significant trends in SAR incidents for the less than 65-foot Newfoundland fishing fleet — SAR incidents increased between 1993 and 1999 and were highest in the 35 to 45-foot length class; the average distance of activity from shore had noticeably increased for the 35 to 45-foot and 45 to 65-foot length classes; the fishing sectors with the largest number of incidents were those targeting crab and groundfish.
The report’s authors concluded “this pattern of SAR incidents, accidents and injuries points to the potential influence on risk of a range of factors including not only vessel size but also targeted species.”
The fishery in Eastern Canada, particularly off the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador, appears to be on the precipice of another one of these fundamental target species changes with the apparent return of groundfish stocks. Given their lucrative nature, fishermen will not be abandoning snow crab and shrimp any time soon in favour of fishing only cod. This will never happen.
But what is going to happen is a move to a more progressive, modern and ramped up cod fishery.
Many of the uninitiated out there might just feel we are returning to what we know best. Cod was fished here for centuries and if there is anybody around the world that knows how to catch them, it is fishermen from this region. But a lot has changed since 1992.
While many commercial harvesters have been allotted small, almost insignificant groundfish quotas over the last few years, fewer and fewer crews, especially the latest generation of skippers, have experience with the demands of a modern, full-fledged cod fishery.
Most industry folks will agree the cod fishery of the future will look very different from that of our fathers and grandfathers, with new market catalysts of improved quality and delivery leading the way — so change is inevitable.
As the industry readies and prepares itself for this fundamental species addition, the safety and well-being of the harvesters also has to be a critical component of this conversation. History has demonstrated to us that major industry shifts have created more risk to fishermen. Let’s learn from that experience. While all stakeholders are planning for the fishery of the near future, let’s ensure safety is paramount through all of these conversations.
