Risk

What the sea wants, the sea will have

Few occupations carry as much risk, both physical and financial, as does fishing. Fishermen cope with constant danger and uncertainty in many ways. Although some may still venture miles out to sea without a life jacket, and with only experience and a compass to guide them, relying on luck or fate usually is now supplemented with a more practical and sometimes legally enforced emphasis on safety.

You may view the objects in the Display Case or the photographs by clicking on them.

• Artifacts
  • Safety-Steps Bandana
  • Newspaper Account of Sinking
  • Our Lady of Good Voyage
  • Spirit Protectors
  • Mayday Instructions
  • Memorial Wreath
  • Life Ring
  • Survival Suit
  • Weather Charm
  • Shark Priest's Fishing Boat
  • Fishing Charm
• Risk at sea
  • Grim Statistics
    Commercial fishing is America's most dangerous profession, and the risk is similarly high in other cultures §.
• Memorials
  • With loss at sea a certainty, every community has its own form of commemoration.
• Blessing the fleet
• Rituals
  • Ceremonies emphasize the unity of fishing communities, commemorating losses and celebrating successes.

Ocean Planet Exhibition Floorplan

gene carl feldman (gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (301) 286-9428
Judith Gradwohl, Smithsonian Institution (Curator/Ocean Planet)