In the Barents Sea, it is “first come, first serve” that applies. In pitch darkness and at the most weather-resistant time of the year, the fishing boats head for the coldest part of the Arctic to find what is referred to as the “gold of the sea”: the snow crab. There is a shortage of space on the boats, because it is a lucrative fishing where you earn very well. In the crab industry, there is so-called Olympic fishing, which means that there is only one large quota, and everyone can fish as much as they want within this. There is not a quota for each boat as in other fishing. – It creates a competitive instinct. This can create unhealthy competition, and then it is up to the shipowner to ensure that this happens in a responsible manner. On previous boats I’ve been on, it’s more important to be fast than safe, says Sebastian Fagerli (25) from Meløy. The snow crab spreads at explosive speed. The reason is that the fishing rods only catch males, because they are much larger than the females. Females can spawn twice at one fertilization. Archive photo. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news He is a snow crab fisherman with several years of experience. Today he is on a boat that takes care of safety well, with a life jacket, helmet and high railing. But he has also been on boats where he has felt unsafe. – Where it has been the wild west and cowboy conditions, the crew has said that we refuse to work if it continues like this. But those boats are no longer in operation, due to many near misses and personal injuries, says Fagerli. Since the new year, the boats in the Barents Sea have fished 70 tonnes of snow crab every day, and more than half of the quota is still left. The snow crab was first observed in the Barents Sea by Russian scientists in 1996. Since then, a large population has been established in the Russian zone. The snow crab has also started to establish itself on the Norwegian side, and it is expected that it will spread northwards and westwards in the Svalbard zone. Archive photo. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news – Effective, but safe The crab fisherman says word of mouth works well among fishermen. People warn each other if they see boats that have not felt safe searching for people. – It is the most dangerous profession. Fishing must be efficient, but it must also be safe, says Fagerli. Researchers have seen that the way fishing is regulated, with a large quota, affects the working environment. – Fisheries management affects fishermen’s working conditions, and can interfere with what fishermen do to prevent occupational injuries, says research leader Ingunn Marie Holmen at Sintef’s fisheries technology department. Measured in terms of the number of employees, fishermen are the occupational group most exposed to occupational accidents and fatalities. But this can change, Sintef believes. – Great risk of getting stuck Just over three weeks ago, a Latvian man in his 30s died after falling into the sea from the Norwegian crab boat “Hunter” in the Barents Sea. The Accident Investigation Board has subsequently opened an investigation into the boat and the shipping company. They have already found three safety-critical points which they believed were so serious that they should be corrected before the final report is ready. One was about the fact that the employees on the boat did not speak the same language, which is challenging to ensure safety. The other two points pointed to safety measures that increase the risk of falling overboard, such as getting stuck in bait and setting the line. Therefore, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate has now notified extraordinary inspections of several crab fishing vessels, to follow up on the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board’s safety criticism. The accident on “Hunter” is very similar to previous incidents Sintef has seen in the ocean-going fishing fleet. They have collected documentation and researched this for many decades. – It is manual work that takes place in a very exposed working environment. When there is a lot of line and gear to be set, there is a great risk of getting caught and being pulled overboard, says Holmen. Taking the fishing fleet under the microscope Sintef will now start a project together with the Norwegian Maritime Directorate, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries and the fishermen’s organizations to find various measures to reduce serious accidents and deaths in the fishing fleet. They have already outlined some: The fisheries management affects the fishermen’s working conditions The free fishing within a total quota leads to fierce competition between the boats to get the largest possible share of the total quota before fishing is closed. Sintef therefore believes that it is an important safety measure to map the interaction between the management and the working environment seen from the fishermen’s point of view, and ensure that the regulation ensures the safe practice of the profession. Education and training of new and experienced fishermen must be strengthened According to Sintef, insufficient training is a consistent cause of personal accidents on boats. Therefore, they believe that training of new and experienced fishermen must never be stopped, but that they must train on what to do in the event of an accident. They also point out that a common working language is crucial for them to be able to share this experience with each other. Safety must be built into new fishery technology Fishermen work under demanding conditions on a moving surface. But the fishermen’s safety and health have has not been a driver for technological development in the industry. That is Sintef’s opinion that they should be. Examples they give are creating physical obstacles so that the fishermen cannot be pulled into moving machinery or over the railing. They believe that new technology can also help to find solutions for emergency stop of the engine and automatic notification if someone falls into the sea. – Happy for measures The government has not responded to news’s inquiries about changes to fisheries management. The Directorate of Fisheries explains that the snow crab is a species that appeared in the Barents Sea at the end of the 1990s and is not part of the natural fauna in our sea areas. – Snow crab fishing is an open fishery, and it is therefore more rational to regulate snow crab with a total quota than individual vessel quotas. Snow crabs are not an endangered species either, says communications advisor Olav Lekve. The general manager of the shipping company Havøy Kystfiske, which owns “Hunter”, says they will not comment on the accident until it has been fully investigated. But he welcomes Sintef’s measures. – It is positive. Anything that makes things safer is the best for everyone, both shipowners and those who will work there, says Jøran Helde. From 2018: The immigrant crab from the east created an ice front between the EU and Norway. – A dangerous profession The shipowners’ own trade association, Fiskebåt, believes there is always a certain risk associated with fishing in the Barents Sea. – But it must not come at the expense of safety. We will not take it lightly. We have to operate as safely as possible in the tough conditions there, says information manager Odd Kristian Dahle. He is therefore positive about the measures to reduce accidents at sea. – My impression is that the fishing fleet takes safety very seriously, and not at the expense of getting the best possible fishing. But it is a dangerous profession, and then everything can get better, says Dahle. Information manager at Fiskebåt, Odd Kristian Dahle, says they encourage their members to use what is available of equipment and good routines and procedures to prevent accidents happening at sea. Photo: Håvard Jangaard Strand / news Never trained Although snow crab fisherman Sebastian Fagerli feels well taken care of and safe on the boat he is on now, he believes that safety at sea can always be improved. – Good training is the alpha and omega. You are never fully trained, no one is born a world champion, he concludes. On the boat he is now on, he has received a clear message: – Here, everyone receives training at all stations. We are told that we have to learn first, and then we get faster as time goes by. We are not allowed to stress to get the job done as quickly as possible. So I am very satisfied with the tutorial. And it hasn’t been like this in other places I’ve been, says Fagerli.
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Proposes changes to prevent deaths and accidents on crab boats – news Troms and Finnmark
