I am a recreational boater, not a commercial fisherman. But I think every guy who goes out on a boat, commercially or recreationally should read this article/editorial and think hard about what it means to them:
Trying Very Hard To Die: The Preventable Disease in Commercial Fishing | gCaptain
What the article says is that John Aldridge did everything wrong (except saving himself). He worked 22 hours straight when he didn't have to, he worked alone in the middle of the night miles from shore, he didn't wear a pfd and he didn't have a personal EPIRB.
Commercial fishing is probably one of the last industries in America that gets away with this kind of behavior. The construction industry learned a long time ago that safe practices and safety equipment save lives. No one in the construction industry that I worked for would last a day doing what Mr. Aldridge did.
The commercial fishing industry needs to wake up and take responsibility for protecting themselves from needless risks.
David