Sea Fishing Disasters

The Eyemouth Fishing Disaster saw almost two hundred men lose their lives when their small, wooden fishing boats were caught in near-hurricane force winds off the coast of Scotland in 1881. The Japanese fishing training vessel the Ehime Maru was quietly making its way across the Pacific Ocean when it was struck from beneath by a US Navy nuclear submarine and sank within minutes. The British trawler Gaul, newly constructed and specifically designed to handle harsh conditions and stormy seas, was lost with all hands in 1974 without managing to issue a distress call. The cause of its sinking would remain a mystery for over two decades. These are three of the twelve disasters this book covers in gripping detail. The key events which led to each disaster are analysed, along with the impact that the disaster had on the fishing industry and local communities, and the changes in laws and legislation which were put in place to prevent such tragedies from happening again. Several different types of fishing disasters are examined with incidents involving trawlers, dredgers, shellfish pickers, seal hunters and recreational anglers all being covered. This book reveals exactly why commercial fishing is the world’s most dangerous peacetime occupation.