Seafarers Code of Silence
Merchant Marines lately brought the issue regarding Seafarers Code of Silence. If it happens in this segment of the Marine Industry, more so in Commercial Fishing.
Fishermen are more prone to abuses such as food rationing, low salary, physical and verbal abuse, sex abuse, unpaid overtime, no medical benefits and non-observance of holidays. In commercial fishing, fishermen are subject to 18 hours of rigorous work and sometimes two days of straight hard work without extra pay.
Long Line fishermen as we call it stay in the deep seas for at least one year and a maximum of two years mostly in the Indian Ocean where Tuna and Shark abound. During this period, there is virtually no communication with their families. However, calls can be placed via satellite phone at USD 5 per minute. At this rate, calling families via satellite phone is a luxury. Fishermen earn meager salaries starting at USD 150 – 300 a month depending on the length of service rendered to the company.
Commercial fishing has a deep implication in family life. Fishermen often find their partners no longer responding to occasional telephone calls or short messages whenever these facilities are available to them. Fishermen end up in misery when they finally arrive home and find their children and partner are long gone.
A large number of fishermen recruited in the manner I discussed earlier do not return to fishing job anymore. Some do, but this time they opt only on legal means which provide them better salaries, benefits and protection from the government. “Direct Hiring” of fishermen by local agents should be reported to Law Enforcement Agencies at once.
Fishermen must keep silent about the abuses and maltreatment they witnessed or they themselves experienced at the hands of their masters at sea if they want to be hired again.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment