Fishing – The Most Dangerous Job in the World
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently stated that fishing at sea is probably the most dangerous occupation in the world. Data from those countries that collect accurate accounts show that occupational fatalities in their fishing industries far exceed their national average. For example, in the United States the fatality rate for the fishing industry is approximately 16 times higher than for fire-fighting or police work and 40 times the national average. Not only are the figures high, but there is little evidence to indicate they are decreasing.
The FAO estimates that around 24,000 people die every year (65 per day) out of a total of about 15 million workers engaged in full-time marine fishing. These people work aboard decked and undecked fishing vessels operating in marine capture fisheries, of whom more than 90 per cent are working on vessels less than 24 metres in length. The most dangerous fisheries are located in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean, the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.
It seems plausible that the fatality rate in countries for which information is not available might be higher than those mentioned above.
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