Tag Archives: Canada’s most dangerous job

The fatal truth about commercial fishing

A note from the authors: Dear readers, we have wanted to cover this story for a long time. Given the fishing tragedies this province has endured, we acknowledge this is a difficult subject. This reporting honours those lost at sea, doing what they loved most: fishing. We recognize the collective grief of families, communities and the entire province. We hope this work illuminates what’s going wrong on the water and helps bring more fish harvesters home safely. Inshore harvesters dealing with trauma after incidents like the ones we describe can access PTSD coverage through workers’ compensation (WorkplaceNL). For anyone else, 811 can connect you with mental health supports in your community.

“My god, what are you doing to me?” says Brenda Gould, remembering the words she shouted into the sky that fateful day in 1989. The Port au Choix woman had just learned that her 22-year-old son Brendan, known as Ben, drowned while fishing off the coast of the Northern Peninsula.  It wasn’t the first time tragedy knocked at Gould’s door. Eleven years earlier, in 1978, her husband Gabriel, 35, also drowned while fishing. Photos, Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:41

Canada’s most dangerous job

Last week’s tragic accident in the waters of Northumberland Strait, off Cape Bear, in Eastern Prince Edward Island, was a reminder of the little acknowledged fact that fishing is the most dangerous occupation in Canada. Two men were killed when a Cape Island fishing boat travelling under full power slammed into a similar boat that was stopped in the water. The Transportation Safety Board and other agencies are investigating the accident and are yet to rule on exactly what happened. Last October, after a month-long study, Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper did an extensive series on workplace fatalities, and it concluded that fishing is Canada’s deadliest occupation. >click to read<11:51