Fishermen's Rights

On the open seas for days and sometimes weeks at a time – with shoddy living conditions, little time to rest, spoiled food to eat and sometimes, mistreatment by the ship’s crew or captain. That’s often the sort of the millions of men and women who make a living from fishing. More Fishers die on the job than workers in almost any other profession and sometimes, instead of receiving a just wage, they’re given a share of the value of the fish they help catch. And that can mean nothing.

In a message for World Fisheries Day celebrated on November 21 2011, the Vatican office responsible for the Church’s Apostleship for the Sea, the Pontifical Council for Migrants, expressed its concern on behalf of fishermen and called for the ratification of a 2007 Convention protecting the work, safety and dignity of the world's fishermen.
Listen to this program by Tracey McClure: