Isolation is the defining condition of work in fishing, and the major reason every other risk here goes unseen. A fisher on a distant-water vessel may go months, or even years, without setting foot ashore, without contact with family, and without any means of reaching an authority, a union or a doctor. Where transhipment takes place – the transfer of fish or catch from one fishing boat to another vessel – it removes the need to make port calls at all, significantly exacerbating isolation and the associated risks.
Isolation is matched by confinement. Fishers live inside their workplace, under the control of the skipper and the operator, physically unable to leave. A worker who wants to stop working cannot walk off a vessel a thousand miles from shore. That is what gives coercion its force in this sector.
Isolation contributes to psychosocial risks, including stress, anxiety and poor mental health. Effective prevention requires robust management systems, safe crewing levels, adequate rest, emergency preparedness, training, access to healthcare and meaningful worker participation in safety processes.
For more on isolation and lone working, see the Risks Across Transport guidance.