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A new CMSS report on ’the fishermen who disappeared’

Why do fishermen leave the fishing industry, and where do they go?

Report no. 2 from the pilot project ‘Fishermen under cross pressure’ has just been published.

The study focuses on the reasons why commercial fishermen leave the trade. It is a theme that has not been studied previously - neither nationally nor internationally. The study is based mainly on interviews with 22 fishermen from different ports in Denmark. The interviewed persons have all left the fishing trade in the years 2014-2015. For most fishermen, the cessation is unwanted, and the various reasons are explained thoroughly in the report.

The former fishermen have also been asked where they went after leaving the fishery. It turns out that almost everyone is still occupied within the maritime field (supplier ships, offshore, merchant fleet, ferries etc.). They are still dedicated to at life at sea – so to speak.

They also report how, retrospectively, they remember their time fishing, and here the good memories are predominant. The majority of them do not rule out a return to fishing, but scepticism and doubt dominate, and the former fishermen find it hard to see the possibility of returning to the trade as realistic due to the existing terms and conditions. Factors that have contributed to pushing them out of the fishery in the first place – according to their experience.

You can download the report by clicking on the cover page below, or you can order the printed version by contacting secretary Susanne E. Frank.

                                

Editing was completed: 23.06.2015