Safety Training and Oceanic Fishing

This paper reports on the cultural adaptation of Atlantic commercial fishermen to the danger of their occupation and efforts to ameliorate that danger through safety training programs. The research is directed towards measuring fishermen's patterns of subjective perceived danger and assessing the impact of safety training on these patterns of thinking. Safety training for commercial fishermen has unique problems owing to a culture that relies heavily on the trivialization or denial of the dangers associated with the work (Binkley, 1995; Poggie et al., 1995, 1996; Pollnac et al., 1995). Hence, understanding the efficacy of various approaches to safety training is important in promoting greater safety at sea, for this understanding will help create the most effective programs

INTRACULTURAL VARIABILITY IN THE COGNITION OF DANGER AMONG SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND FISHERS

The costs of the dangers of commercial fishing are very high, yet fishing vessel safety regulations are frequently met with lack of enthusiasm or even rejection by fishers. Why would fishers reject regulations designed to increase their safety? There is a strong possibility that some of the rejection is the result of lack of cognitive sharing and communication between originators of the regulations and the fishers for whom the regulations are designed. This paper examines the pattern of cognition about danger of the occupation among fishers and relates these patterns to sociocultural differences in two southern New England ports. The intent of the study is to help bridge the gap between regulators and users by providing culturally appropriate information that can be used to design more effective policy, training, and enforcement programs.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Changes in Job Satisfaction through Time in Two Major New England Fishing Ports

Fishing communities in the U.S. have been the subject of great transformation due to changes in availability of resources and the implementation of different rules and regulations to manage the fisheries and conserve fish stocks. Job satisfaction has been widely regarded as an important component of well-being especially among fishermen because the occupation of fishing includes attributes of ‘adventure,’ ‘challenge,’ and ‘being outdoors’ infrequently found in other employment. It has been previously demonstrated that management driven changes to fishing communities can directly and indirectly affect aspects of fishermen’s job satisfaction and, consequently, their wellbeing. This paper presents a unique through time comparison of job satisfaction among fishermen between three time periods (1977, 2009/10, and 2013/14) in two major New England fishing ports: New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Point Judith, Rhode Island. Results show important differences between the three time-periods analyzed that can be associated with important changes in fisheries management in the last few decades. Differences found between ports also emphasize important socio-cultural aspects influencing job satisfaction and well-being in fishing communities. This study demonstrates that job satisfaction variables are valuable indicators of change in the context of fisheries and therefore provide valuable information for the development of future management plans that take into account important aspects of fishing community well-being

Fishing as Therapy: Impacts on Job Satisfaction and Implications for Fishery Management

This study presents unique comparisons, across space and time, regarding aspects of fishers’ perception of their job satisfaction and well-being between two geographic areas where fishing constitutes integral part of the local economy and culture: the Northeast Region US and the Caribbean. Examining differences in aspects of job satisfaction and well-being in such highly different environments (both human and natural) will provide information for developing models to understand how different stressors (e.g. changes in the natural, socio-cultural, economic and managerial environments) affect those whose livelihoods depend directly on fishery resources. Models elucidating relationships between environmental and anthropogenic changes and the well-being of resource dependent populations will provide indispensable input for the development of strategies that incorporate both natural and human objectives in preserving and maintaining essential ecosystem services. (from the second page

Happiness, well-being and psychocultural adaptation to the stresses associated with marine fishing

The purpose of this paper is to develop a heuristic model to account for the attachment that many particularly successful fishermen seem to have to their occupation. It is argued here that the relatively risky nature of the occupation of fishing attracts and holds individuals manifesting an active, adventurous, aggressive, and courageous personality; hence, these risky components of the job have a positive influence on their levels of happiness. There is more to fishing than money. What other occupation is reflected in a popular recreational activity like marine sport fishing? It takes one into a different environment, away from shore-based activities and allows participants to become involved in the thrill of the hunt, pitting ones\u27 luck and skill against others as well as against elusive prey hidden beneath the water. As a consequence, some fishermen resist leaving the occupation even when economic returns suggest they should. The paper first develops a heuristic human ecology model that illustrates relationships between aspects of the physical, political, and social environments that generate stress among commercial fishermen. The model is then elaborated to include psychological, biobehavioral, technological, ideological and social adaptations that mediate between the stress causing variables and the individual fisherman, reducing or eliminating the stress. A possible genetic component is also discussed. The model is discussed in terms of its application to fisheries management in New England and elsewhere. © Society for Human Ecology

Job satisfaction in the fishery in two Southeast Alaskan towns

Job satisfaction provides us with a window to view the psycho-cultural adaptations of individuals in communities. In this case we are looking at three maritime occupations in two highly fishing-dependent communities in Southeast Alaska. A great deal of research has linked job satisfaction to individual attributes such as mental health and longevity; and social problems such as family violence, absenteeism, and job performance. Job satisfaction, in turn, is related to aspects of the occupation that can be impacted by changes resulting from development and/or management. The paper examines aspects of job satisfaction among commercial fishers, charter boat operators and fish plant workers in Petersburg and Craig, Southeast Alaska. Respondents were requested to rate 21 aspects of their present occupation in terms of their relative satisfaction. Analysis of the data resulted in a component structure very similar to that found among fishers in Nova Scotia, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic coast. Inclusion of non-commercial fishers in the sample gives this research a dimension that was missing in the earlier work. Interrelationships between job satisfaction data, aspects of the occupation (e.g., fishing type, crew size, etc.), and individual characteristics (e.g., age, years experience, fishing family origin, etc.) are examined and discussed in the paper in relationship to management and technological changes in the fishery. Overall, the paper provides an increment to our understanding of the theory of job satisfaction in the fishery. Copyright © 2006 by the Society for Applied Anthropology

The Structure of Job Satisfaction Among New England Fishermen and Its Application to Fisheries Management Policy

This article examines the structure of job satisfaction among New England fishermen using three different measures. The various measures of job satisfaction were found to be complexly related to other sociocultural variables such as age, education, years of fishing experience, type of fishing, ethnicity, and home port. The policy implications of these findings are discussed as they relate to fishery development and management. 1988 American Anthropological Associatio

The Natural Resource Region and marine policy: a case study from the New England Groundfish Fishery

This paper proposes the Natural Resource Region (NRR) as a policy tool for the management of total capital flows and interactions with Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs). The NRR is conceptualized as a network of Natural Resource Communities bound together by total capital flows and dependent on the marine resources of adjacent LMEs. The NRR is illustrated with a case study of the New England multispecies groundfish fishery, showing how ignorance by managers of tolal capital components (i.e. social, economic, cultural, human, biophysical) significantly destabilized the fishery. A NRR approach to marine policy and management is anticipated to improve the sustainability of both natural resources and natural-resource dependent communities.Natural Resource Region Total capital Large marine ecosystems New England Groundfish Fishery

Coastal resource foraging, the culture of coastal livelihoods, and human well-being in Southeastern Puerto Rico: consensus, consonance, and some implications for coastal policy

Based on 3 years of fieldwork in Southeastern Puerto Rico (SE PR), we report on data showing that Puerto Rican coastal resource foragers (CR foragers) have a distinct cultural model of well-being, when compared with their non-foraging neighbors. The CR foragers’ cultural model of well-being is directly related to the foraging lifestyle. It emphasizes independence, investment in social relationships, and enjoyment of the natural environment over the more stable access to higher income available in the formal economy. As such, we view this cultural model as an alternative to the individualistic/capitalistic model of continual growth and wealth accumulation. Building on previous analysis in which we found higher subjective well-being for coastal resource foragers compared with non-foraging neighbors as reported by García-Quijano et al. (J Anthropol Res 71 (2):145–167 2015), we find that the higher well-being of CR foragers compared with their non-foraging neighbors is consistent with Dressler’s (2018) framework of cultural consonance, in this case between what they value in life and what they are able to obtain through their occupation and lifestyle as CR foragers. We discuss the implication of our findings for coastal policy in CR foraging dependent locales such as SE PR

Thresholds of danger: Perceived risk in a New England fishery

Building on previous research published in this journal (Pollnac et al. 1995), the paper examines individual and cultural factors that influence the thresholds of danger among North Atlantic fishers from New Bedford, Massachusetts. Refined measures of perceptions of the dangers of fishing are developed and examined in terms of their relationship to individual differences such as ethnicity, age, fishing experience, onboard position, type of fishing, vessel size, and prior experience with hazardous fishing incidents. Relationships uncovered are, in turn, examined in relation to aspects of the occupational subculture of fishing that adapt fishers to the dangers associated with the occupation. Implications of these adaptations with respect to fisher safety training are explored