Evidently a vessel's physicaJL inadequacies ajid a captain's lack 

 of navigational skill are not a matter of cost alone. To some extent, 

 they are a matter of function and practice or custom. The primary 

 objective of the vessel and its captain is not navigation but fishing. 

 Thus, in California, the vessel's stability appsirently has been 

 sacrificed to peiioit better location of tanl^s for water, bait, and 

 fish; in New England devices for the crew' s safety have been removed 

 because, in the opinion of the captains, they hinder fishing opera- 

 tions. Thus, the primary requirement for a captain is that he be a 

 good fisherman. Navigation is considered to be of secondary or 

 sometimes tertiary importance. Inquiring into this subject, a field 

 vork supeinrisor in the Gulf Area reports that "while seamanship 

 certainly was an important element in reducing insurance losses, 

 unfortunately it was the third requirement that the interviewed 

 owner was concerned with in selecting a skipper. Preceding it came 



fishing ability and the ability to mend nets." Another 



field supervisor from the same area sums up the situation as 

 follows: "No formal requirements exist for captains and I, for 

 example, could put on a sailor hat and operate a boat if someone 

 would hire me." Additional information indicates that a consider- 

 able munber of captains in all three areas have risen from fisher- 

 men ranks with a rudimentary knowledge of the duties and responsi- 

 bilities required for navigating and commanding a vessel. 



The obvious conflict between the vessel's seaworthiness and 

 the captain's seamanship, on the one hand, and fishing operations 

 on the other is another aspect which contributes to aji understanding 

 of the commercial fishing vessel as an insurable risk. This conflict 

 also presents an aspect of the insurance problem which deserves 

 considerable attention. 



3. The labor force of the industry . Finally, the caliber of 

 the engineer and the crew is closely related to the insurability of 

 many commercial fishing vessels, both for hull sind protection and 

 indemnity insurance. This situation again is partly the result of 

 conditions in the labor market and partly the result of recruiting 

 practices. 



For many a fisherman, his occupation is not only a means to 

 make a living, but it is a way of life. Cultural and linguistic 

 barriers may also restrict the fisherman's mobility to other 

 occupations. On the other hajid, the unprecedented postwar 

 economic prosperity in the country, coupled with the relative 

 decline of economic opportunities in fishing, seems to have 

 created labor shortages in some areas. Since 1950, many fisher- 

 men have been attracted to other more lucrative and less hazardous 

 occupations, while entry of new workers has slowed down if not 

 declined. Moreover, increased employment opportunities elsewhere 

 drained the labor pool which otherwise might have been available 

 for reciMitment. 



85 



