dkruger_at_seasurf.com wrote: > Michael, I think your comments here are out of line. Perhaps you are > unfamiliar with the regulations (and conditions) under which commercial > fishers work. Let me guess. You are a commercial fisherman? > 1. USCG regulations govern the certification and equipping of commercial > fishing vessels (CFV's). I am as impressed with the value of USCG inspection for increasing safety as I am with sponsons. The USCG doesn't have the resources to do more than token inspections, and I continue to see reports of the poor design of fishing vessels for many of the waters they are fishing in. Regulation of commercial enterprise is standard fare throughout the world. > 2. Around here, the main causes of a sinking or capsize are NOT a > failure of judgement or safety equipment for CFV crews. The main cause > is Ma Nature, who can make it very nasty out on the water. If this is really the case, then the vessels must not be up to the task. Why limit to sinking or capsize? What about crew being washed or falling overboard? > The harsh reality of earning a living > fishing is that fishers sometimes wager their lives to earn a living. > This seems like a very different dynamic than what drives sea kayakers > to their recreation. The difference is that the fishermen are out to make money. Oops, I forgot, money is the HOLLY GRAIL. > 3. Finally, I suspect the accident RATE for commercial fishers (number > of fatalities or capsizes per trip) is very much lower than the accident > RATE for sea kayakers. We hear of more rescues of CFV's than kayaks > because CFV's, in toto, have many more trips per year, and have a > greater TOTAL risk. I don't know that this is true, without good data there can be no statistical comparison. > Maybe it will help you to empathize with those who > risk their lives to feed us to know that a typical CFV pays much more in > fees each year to support rescue services than a sea kayak does. Most of the money that pays for rescues comes from the general fund, not from fees paid by the vessels involved. BTW the CFVs also make a lot more money than the sea kayaks do. Last time I checked, those people were risking their lives to MAKE MONEY. The last guy I heard of that was giving fish away for free was crucified about 2000 years ago. > > I do not like to hear of deaths of kayakers, especially those that could have > > been easily prevented by a little training and practice, but I often think > > the danger is shown out of proportion. Has anybody looked at the death and > > injury rate for High School football? > > I'm having difficulty with this comparison, also, Michael, because when > an unfortunate high school kid becomes a paraplegic through suffering a > neck injury, the main sufferer is the kid. In addition, there is no > costly, tax-payer-funded search to find him to provide assistance. Really? There is no taxpayer money going to research and treatment for these kids? Look again. > usually somewhere in or on a 50 x 100 yard grid, surrounded by lots of > observers, with an ambulance standing by. In comparison, when a sea > kayaker becomes "lost," there is often triggered a very expensive search > just to locate him/her or his/her craft. The point is, the dangers of sea kayaking are being overplayed for mostly the wrong reasons. Sea kayakers are not dieing by the thousands, or even hundreds. There is no need for a call to institute heavy regulations on sea kayaking. > My Bottom Line: > > If we tolerate a high level of incompetence in our paddling partners, we I favor incouraging a high level of competence in all activities. > invite the wrath of the public, who funds our survival when we capsize > or are lost at sea. It seems the public has a reasonable right to > expect us to minimize our chances of demanding a rescue, and when we > need one, to have prepared ourselves so that the cost of the rescue is > minimized. To act otherwise is to invite regulation of our access to > the sea. Again, I hear of big searchs and rescues of fishermen all of the time, both commercial and sport. I don't hear of any big push to stop people from fishing. Why should I expect to hear a big push to regulate kayaking? I get VERY angry when I hear of CG personel refering to kayaks as "floating coffins" yet I never hear of any equivelent nasty term for fishing boats. Even if I never get in a boat, or need a rescue, I am still paying the wages of all of those USCG personel. michael *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
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