Where management and safety come together

It happened last November off the southern tip of the State of New Jersey, 20 miles off Indian River Inlet, Delaware State. The Sea Tractor, a 44-footer, was caught in a sort of “perfect storm” or, according to the US National Weather Service, between two colliding weather systems that created enormous freak waves.

The Sea Tractor was due back on the evening of 11 November, but never made port. The boat sunk and the bodies of her crew of three were found some days later.

According to press reports in New England, Sea Tractor was fishing for flounder under a system that gives fishermen a set amount of time to land their quota.

At the end of an 11-day fluke season, there was a three-day fluke quota that opened up on Sunday 8 November, and ended on Wednesday 11 November. The Sea Tractor, in spite that the storm had been predicted for days, went out and met its terrible fate.

Nonetheless, even after the disaster, some fishermen expressed the opinion that “they had no choice if they wanted to earn a living. They had to stay out”. And: “It’s either you go out when they tell you, or you don’t make any money. He had a three-day window. The biggest question is the laws. They’re out there because of these stupid laws. There’s no sense in these lives being in danger.”

Another example of risk-taking because of regulations was the story of a 90-foot fishing boat Jersey Cape. She was carrying 5,000 pounds of fluke to be landed in Virginia, because New Jersey's fish landing rules allowed landing only 1,500 pounds.

The weather was rough with strong northwest winds, reported PressofAtlanticCity.com, with 15-20 foot waves. But instead of docking at Cape May (NJ) – the nearest refuge, she had to ride out the storm all the way to Virginia or face significant fines.

Disasters at sea such as the one that befell the Sea Tractor, which are the product of insensitive management, are not unavoidable. Why towards spells of predicted bad weather the management-controlled fishing season can’t be suspended and re-opened when it calms down? This needs a good communication and co-operation among such institutions as the weather service, fishery managers, port authorities, and coast guard.

Unnecessary regulations

On 4 May, GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA, published skipper’s Paul Cohan letter, to Adm Nimmich, the US Coastguard commander. He called for UCCG’s intervention to prevent regulations leading to the “disintegration of the fleet” and fishermen being regulated into an untenable position.

“Due to closures and minuscule allocations,” wrote Capt Cohan, “fishermen are being forced to fish in places and at times which present unnecessary risks, due to the need to maximise return on every pound of fish.”

And: “…the financial impact of un-necessarily restrictive regulations, designed, primarily, to eliminate a "significant percentage" of the fleet, one way or another, presents the greatest threat to safety at sea”.

One consequence is that routine maintenance of vessels is being postponed, and aging vessels are not being replaced with new boats.

This doesn’t require introduction of major changes in the existing regulations that may vary from place to place and from country to country. But whatever the rules say, they should be so formulated that, as one northeast fisherman said: “The rules shouldn't kill people. They shouldn't force boats to stay at sea in dangerous weather.”

Eventually, any incentives to take risks, whether financial or regulatory should be done away with. On the positive side, regulations as well as insurance policies should encourage vessel owners taking safety measures, and safety equipment shouldn’t be taxed.

Blaming fishermen for risk taking cannot come instead of thinking, before regulating.

While fisheries management systems worldwide are expected to take care of fish resources, they must be required that while doing this fishing people’s safety is not put at risk.

Danish hopes

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” …said Marcellus, a character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Now, a report by Jeppe Høst to the International Collective in-Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) tells us that indeed something is rotten, in this case, a fishing community threatened by a combined effect of bank collapse and a system that promotes acquisition of marketable quotas.

When Danish fishing quotas were made transferable in 2007, 20 fishermen of Thorupstrand, in view of the rapidly rising quota value, joined forces, formed a co-operative, and bought fishing quotas. This, in contrary to some of their neighbouring communities, where boat-owners sold their boats and quotas to cash in on the bullish quota market.

With the financial support of a local bank, the co-operative invested a total of DKK 45 million (€6 million/$7.9 million) in the quota. Some of the quota was rented to young people, enabling five of them to join the co-operative and become fishermen without taking massive bank loans needed to buy expensive quotas.

Enter the financial crisis; the local bank collapsed and the value of the quota halved. The state took over the collapsed bank and closed all its activities, and in late May this year, the co-operative was given an ultimatum: get a new bank loan by the 1 July, or its fishing quota would be auctioned off. This would mean the end of fishing in the community.

Finding a new loan has not been easy, and even when a bank has shown interest, the size of the new loan will only cover the value of the quota today. The community therefore is hoping for the state to accept a loss of DKK 22 million (€3 million/$3.9 million) on the initial loan, in order for the community to continue their fishing.

Another demand from the new bank is that the co-operative shall find DKK 5 million (€671,157/$879,582) to re-establish the equity of the co-operative. In the run-up to 1 July, the fishers were desperately looking for grants and foundations that will help to save the fishing community.

Many years ago I visited this unique community, where they beach their boats. I hope the fishing industry there survives.