More women are casting their net into the salmon fishing industry

More women are casting their net into the salmon fishing industry

Source: Crosscut.com

6/30/2023

Credit: Crosscut

Venturing into deep, often treacherous waters. Winching ropes in gale-force winds. Leaning into waves that whip over the bows of their boats. Commercial fishermen face extraordinary on-the-job hazards. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor ranked their profession the second deadliest, behind logging.

Many assume this tough and dangerous profession is a man’s job. That notion is reinforced by the popular TV series The Deadliest Catch, where crabbers brave winter winds in icy waters, or movies like The Perfect Storm, in which fishermen face a monster storm after leaving their women behind.