Measuring the Safety of Navigation and Safety Awareness at Sea of Turkish Straits System Fisherman

Abstract

As in every business sector, the safety factor in fishing is very important. Although fishing boats are equipped with safety equipment, internalization of safety issues and increased awareness are crucial for the crew members as safety at sea is not a factor of on board equipment. Especially the fishermen's ignorance of the navigational restrictions and difficulties in fishing grounds may cause concerns. Since the Turkish Straits, which are two of the most dangerous and heavily trafficked straits in the world, fishermen must be aware of all meteorological, navigational and geographical restrictions. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the fishermen who navigate the straits to reach the fishing grounds or use the straits as fishery grounds in order to determine the safety awareness and navigational safety at sea. A total of 23 interviews with fishermen were undertaken. The interviews were audio recorded with the permission of the participants and analyzed by content analysis method. Findings indicated that the fishermen mostly ignored the safety factors and regarded the safety equipment as an expense item that created a financial burden. It was determined that navigational safety awareness was higher than safety awareness at sea. Lack of safety equipment on board of vessels was not determined but its availability was mostly due to periodic inspections.

Keywords

• safety at sea
• navigation safety
• turkish straits
• awareness
• semi structured interviews
• content analysis