Commercial fishing

The industry, in 2023 was able to generate over 319 billion dollars in sales and also provided 2.1 million jobs in the United States, according the NOAA's Fisheries Service. Although the industry is able to provided this many jobs the pay varies from season to season and boat to boat. Commercial fishing may offer an abundance of jobs, but the pay varies from boat to boat, season to season. Crab fisherman Cade Smith was quoted in an article by Business Week as saying, "There was always a top boat where the crew members raked in $50,000 during the three- to five-day king crab season—or $100,000 for the longer snow crab season". That may be true, but there are also the boats who do not do well; Smith said later in the same article that his worst season left him with a loss of 500 dollars. which refers to anyone working without an employment contract, on a boat crewed by more than one person, and relying for their livelihood at least partly on a share of the profits or gross sales of the fishing boat's catch. ==Methods and gear==

Commercial fishing uses many different methods to effectively catch a large variety of species including the use of pole and line, trolling with multiple lines, trawling with large nets such as seine-netting, and traps or pots. Sustainability of fisheries is improved by using specific equipment that eliminates or minimizes catching non-targeted species. Fishing methods vary according to the region, the species being fished for, and the technology available to the fishermen. A commercial fishing enterprise may vary from one man with a small boat with hand-casting nets or a few pot traps, to a huge fleet of trawlers processing tons of fish every day. Commercial fishing gears in use today include surrounding nets (e.g. purse seine), seine nets (e.g. beach seine), trawls (e.g. bottom trawl), dredges, hooks and lines (e.g. long line and troll line), lift nets, gillnets, entangling nets, Pole and Line, and traps. Commercial fishing gear is specifically designed and updated to avoid catching certain species of animal that is unwanted or endangered. Millions of dollars are spent each year in researching/developing new techniques to reduce the injury and even death of unwanted marine animals caught by the fishermen. In fact, there was a study taken in 2000 on different deterrents and how effective they are at deterring the target species. The study showed that most auditory deterrents helped prevent whales from being caught while more physical barriers helped prevent birds from getting tangled within the net. ==Occupational health and safety==

During 2010–2014, 188 commercial fishing fatalities occurred in the United States, with fatality rates in different fishing fleets ranging from 21 to 147 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers (FTEs), which is many times higher than the fatality rate for all U.S. workers. Between 1919 and 2005, 4111 fishermen died in fishing related accidents in the United Kingdom industry alone. These deaths are generally a result of a combination of severe weather conditions, extreme fatigue because any one fisherman usually puts in a 21-hour shift, and dangerous equipment. Commercial fishing has been identified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding occupational health and safety issues. From 2000-2019, 878 commercial fishermen died from a traumatic injury while fishing in the U.S. that is an average of 43 deaths per year. Nearly half of those deaths occurred after a vessel disaster and another 30 percent were due to falls overboard. The fatality rates in different fishing fleets ranging from 21 to 147 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers (FTEs), which is many times higher than the fatality rate for all U.S. workers. Between 1919 and 2005, 4111 fishermen died in fishing related accidents in the United Kingdom industry alone. These deaths are generally a result of a combination of severe weather conditions, extreme fatigue because any one fisherman usually puts in a 21-hour shift, and dangerous equipment. Commercial fishing has been identified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding occupational health and safety issues. Hazards and hazard controls Common causes of fishing-related deaths include vessel disasters, falls overboard, and onboard injuries. The most frequent cause of death is falls overboard. Falling overboard specifically killed 182 fishermen in the period between 2000 and 2010. This fatality rate is 3 times that of the next most dangerous job in the U.S. and more than 25 times that of the national average across all workers. Injury data collection systems have begun tracking fishing-related injuries (fatal and non-fatal), using publicly available reports such as news media. Regulation The U.S. Coast Guard has primary jurisdiction over the safety of the U.S. commercial fishing fleet, enforcing regulations of the U.S. Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988 (CFIVSA). CFIVSA regulations focus primarily on saving lives after the loss of a vessel and not on preventing vessels from capsizing or sinking, falls overboard, or injuries on deck. CFIVSA regulations require that commercial fishing vessels carry various equipment (e.g., life rafts, radio beacons, and immersion suits) depending on the size of the vessel and the area in which it operates. Not all commercial fishermen follow safety regulations and advice. One study of Maine fishermen found that less than 25% of the fishermen interviewed had recent training in first aid or CPR, only 75% of the boats had survival suits and only 36% had a survival craft. Even the ships that did have the necessary equipment did not consistently have a captain that fully understood how to use the safety equipment. == Environmental risk ==

The oceans cover nearly two thirds of the Earth's surface, and are continuously threatened by human behaviors and practices. By taking so many fish from the seas, humans have managed to remove entire links from the marine food chain. This causes a chain effect, leading to an overall upset of the delicate ecological balance. Sharks are one of the ocean's most threatened groups (see list of threatened sharks) because they are mistakenly caught by vessels searching for fish, and end up getting tossed back into the ocean dead or dying Some Asian cuisines value shark fin as a delicacy, incentivizing excessive catching of sharks and even finning practice among unregulated fishermen. This disappearance of sharks has enabled prey animals like rays to multiply, which alters the food chain dynamics. Bycatch is the industry term for what they consider "unwanted or economically-worthless aquatic animals who are unintentionally caught using destructively indiscriminate fishing methods like longlines and driftnets, which generally target marketable marine creatures such as tuna and swordfish" Fish farming is the raising of fish for food in underwater enclosures, otherwise known as aquaculture. There are environmental hazards such as waste, damage to ecosystems, and negative effects on humans. Because they are so densely packed together, the fecal matter that accumulates can create algal blooms, or deadly parasites and viruses that thrive on the filthy environment. These can infect wild fish that swim near the enclosure, or whole colonies of fish if an infected farm fish escapes the enclosure. Despite these concerns, advancements in sustainable aquaculture practices offer potential solutions for reducing pressure on natural fisheries. Overfishing occurs because fish are captured at a faster rate than they can reproduce. Both advanced fishing technologies and increased demand for fish have resulted in overfishing. The Food and Agricultural Organization has reported that "about 25 percent of the world's captured fish end up thrown overboard because they are caught unintentionally (bycatch), are illegal market species, or are of inferior quality and size" It should not go unnoticed that overfishing has caused more ecological extinction than any other human influence on coastal ecosystems. The global environmental problem of oceanic microplastics is largely caused by plastic-made fishing gear that is wearing down by use, lost or thrown away. This has become an increasing problem and threatens the lives of a lot of sea life. This can disrupt food webs, decrease fertility and harm biodiversity. == See also ==