The governing authorities are working to get more women into the profession, and recently the Gender Equality Strategy for the maritime industry was presented to the Storting. But they are not doing enough, says fisherman Sisilie Skagen. – It is clear that things take a long time. They have, after all, come up with an equality strategy, but the measures are often directed against harassment and that type of thing. But they also have to take care of those who enter the profession. Sicily hopes for better rights for female fishermen. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Here she is referring to a specific problem. The law says that fishermen must collect their catch every day. This means that if you have to stay at home with sick children, you can be fined several thousand kroner from the Directorate of Fisheries. – So we simply have an arrangement that we cannot take advantage of, and be at home with sick children. It is also forbidden to let others smoke the mill on that day. Then someone stands there and has a problem, says Skagen. Read the full response to the Directorate of Fisheries at the bottom of the case. Working for equality Skagen is a member of “Ho Fisker”, which is an organization for female professional fishermen, which works to promote equality at sea. Last week they were at the Storting to talk to several ministries about challenges linked to being a woman and parents in the fishing profession. And how laws and rules sometimes work against each other. Skagen says that she went to the Storting to shine a light on several of the challenges that female professional fishermen face on a daily basis. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news – We were lucky enough to meet the various ministries and give our views on a number of issues regarding regulations that tend to cross each other. Or that has not been thought of before, says Skagen. She believes that the various ministries must work together to find solutions that make it easier to have equality in the fisheries. Can’t get help The rule that her mill must be smoked every day also applies if she is sick herself. Then she can’t get someone to smoke for her either. – My roommate and I have five children together. We are both fishermen, and there is a high chance that one of them will fall ill during the winter. So if I have to be at home with a sick child, it is not like he can smoke my use. Even though both are fishermen and we come from the same household, he is not allowed to help me, says Skagen. -Why not? – It is because it is my fish that are in the nets. Then the fish will be worse and I will be fined instead because I call him and he arranges it. Sisilie’s children are used to being with their mother at work. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Cannot be delivered to the nursery There are also challenges with the landing regulations, Skagen says. She says that it is difficult to reach the kindergarten with the rules that are in place now. – We must be checked, report the catch and come ashore. But then we didn’t manage to deliver and pick up at the nursery. In order to reach the nursery, we have to leave the quay, and that is not allowed. We will lie there waiting for the seat, says Skagen. Here they have been exempted from this for a couple of months from January to April, but they do not have that for the rest of the year. She says that this is a set of regulations that has expired. – This also applies to fathers. It may have been just as common, but in an egalitarian society, fathers are also at home with sick children. And if she reports that she has a sick child, it takes five weeks before she gets a response, says Skagen. – Short-term illness should be simpler. Sisilie believes that the various ministries must work together to find solutions that make it easier to have equality in the fisheries. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Take the kids to the sea – I have taken my kids to the sea, and it’s not always that I want to or are able to. It is a strain to have to look after small children at the same time as having one of the world’s most dangerous professions, says Skagen. She has raised the problem related to the smoking obligation several times in recent years with the director of fisheries and others, but nothing has been done, she says. – I have been forced to take them out on the boat since they were two years old, and that is not desirable. And especially when I work alone. Skagen says that several Storting politicians have been surprised and disappointed when she tells them about this. – Those who, for example, focus on health or on family and work, they are not as attentive to the problems we have in the fishing industry. There should probably be a little more cooperation between the agencies. We have received good feedback from them, and that it is good that we focused on this, she says. Can get dispensation In an e-mail from the Directorate of Fisheries, they write that there are opportunities for others to smoke the mill if unexpected events occur. Then the fisherman must call the directorate to get a dispensation. – Then I can risk and attend in 5 weeks’ processing time, just as I can risk that it will be sorted out on the same day. You don’t know that, and you are therefore looking to involve the directorate in the event that a quick solution is not found. It may also be that you don’t actually know anyone in the same area who can help to smoke the mill. Skagen therefore believes that this must be legislated in written form. In her experience, different case managers run different practices. – There has to be a better one and write down practice on it. Because as the rules are now, you are at the mercy of meeting a case manager with an understanding of the situation. It should be a rule without exception that you get a dispensation when you have a sick child, says Skagen. What do you think about the future so that you can continue with your profession? – I think that not everything is as difficult to change. It is not that difficult to arrange a distribution opportunity that does not take six weeks to process. The answer from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries Current requirements for the rearing of redfish are set out in §18 of the harvesting regulations. These requirements are based on Section 16 of the Marine Resources Act, which states that all harvesting and other exploitation of wild marine resources must be done as gently as possible. The rules on the rearing of sea turtles are central and important, and they are based on concern for animal welfare, the desire to avoid unnecessary damage to resources and loss of catch, the desire to reduce littering in the sea, and also quality concern. The Hausting Regulations do not open up access to exemptions from the obligation to smoke, and there is basically no access to allow other vessels to smoke the cruise ships either. In some cases, however, unexpected events may occur which mean that it is not possible to complete the travel plans within the set deadlines. This could, for example, be bad weather, an accident or illness. Such unexpected events in connection with the practice of fishing are handled in dialogue between individual fishermen and enforcing authorities in accordance with long-standing practice. Anyone who is unable to meet the cultivation requirement will normally contact the Directorate of Fisheries with a view to finding a practical solution. Such a solution could, for example, be for other persons/vessels to collect the travel documents, or for the travel documents to be collected as soon as conditions make it possible. A fine of NOK 70,000 is only relevant for very extensive breaches of the duty to smoke.
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Professional fisherman Sisilie Skagen risks a fine for being at home with a sick child – news Nordland
