Falklands blog for Friday April 12 2013
The price of fish. That is one of the things that most of us never really consider.
Several things have brought this to my mind. Firstly, Mrs Thatcher and the closure of deep mining pits in the UK. Nostalgia makes us look back through rose tinted glasses at old industries. Deep mining was and continues to be one of the more hazardous occupations in the world. It is a horrible job – in the dark, the noise and the heat. As a surgical trainee, the long line of miners with crush and avulsion injuries to their hands was an unremarkable and frequent occurrence. One side effect of mine closures, has been a major reduction in these maiming injuries.
Now, what could be even more dangerous than deep shaft mining? The answer is deep sea fishing. Here, in the Falklands, we see what happens when you combine fast rotating metal and the South Atlantic. Standing at the harbour front, I can’t hold my camera still to take photos because of the buffeting of the wind. Now, imagine topping and tailing fish on a rotary disc, while the deck heaves and shakes beneath you.
I remember being told about a famous World War II cartoon in the Daily Mirror, of a sailor clinging to wreckage. The caption read “The price of petrol has been increased by one penny .. Official”. It caused a furore at the time, but it was a powerful message.
Do think about the fishermen in these waters, far from their homes, earning their wage in what is the most dangerous occupation in the world.
