Respect Your Fishermen

Within your professional career, at some point leadership ethics (which is defined by Harvard university as: “leaders and managers making decisions based on the right thing to do for the common good, not just based on what is best for themselves or for the bottom line”) will play a crucial role with the development (and comradery) of your workplace. These decisions made by those within a leadership role not only affects how your company is run but can also alter the overall wellbeing of you and your fellow coworkers. Since Fisherman’s pride is a seafood company (and my employment is on a commercial salmon vessel) we will focus on the seafood industry. More concisely, how leadership ethics play an important role in both the safety of the crew as well as the quality of the harvest. Both important factors to consider when looking for a legitimate seafood source.

According to the CDC the Alaska commercial fishing industry has a yearly fatality rate “20 times the national average” and within a calendar year approximately “34 fishing vessels, and 24 lives are lost” in the open waters of Alaska. This means that out of 100,000 workers that 140 will succumb to occupational hazards.

 So why is the fatality rate so high and why does it matter? Well because commercial vessels (for the most part) are independently operated businesses--Which means that as long as the fishing operation is following state guidelines (and coastguard regulations) the skipper can run their entity how they deem fit, even if they are unknowingly making dangerous and unethical leadership decisions and/or producing a low-quality harvest.

 In fact, a skipper is not required to have any formal training, prior fishing experience and/or knowledge of operating heavy machinery (within inclement weather) in order to run a crew and commercially harvest seafood—which can make an already dangerous job that much riskier. And the quality of the catch? Very inconsistent.

So how can you (the consumer) ensure that you are buying seafood directly from an ethically operated source (boats that respect the lives of their crew), and know that you will be receiving a top quality harvest? Well, it’s simple. Buy small and buy from independently sourced businesses that have relationships with the fishermen and CHECK THEIR HARVEST AND REPUTATIONS. When you buy from a fishmonger who works directly with the boats (instead of wholesalers and corporations) conversations are had, relationships are formed, and operational ethics are revealed.

Respect your fishermen and buy from independent sources.  Buy from fishmongers (such as Fisherman’s Pride) who can choose exactly what businesses they want to work with. Buy from those who respect the lives and well-being of their fellow fisher folk and the harvests that they are producing.