The tragic deaths of five Sri Lankan fishermen who succumbed to illness after consuming an unknown liquid found in a bottle floating in the sea have sent shockwaves through the country – especially the fisheries community. 

Many have questioned what the authorities are going to do about the surviving fisherman and the families of the deceased. What is more, the social media discourse about the incident questions as to whether any steps would be taken with regard to the group with whom the affected fishermen had allegedly shared the said liquid. While the public uproar regarding the tragedy is warranted, it also holds a mirror to our society regarding responsible behaviour and accountability of our citizens.

While the rescue mission succeeded and necessary medical treatments are underway to save the life of one survivor, we cannot limit this incident as one of the fisher community, or disregard this as an unfortunate result of an irresponsible act. That is because this incident pointed out an unforeseen aspect of the risks involving risky jobs such as the fisheries sector. It relates to the intellectual capacity and responsibility of those engaged in such jobs, and an important question that needs to be asked at the national level, especially among the fisheries community and those in governance; are we doing enough to train and prepare our fishermen and mariners to be responsible and safe in the high seas. While there are inherent risks linked to the fisheries and maritime trade, there also needs to be a common minimum standard skill, discipline and competency for all seafarers.

One may say, oh come on, they are fishermen, and no country trains their fishermen! However, many train and build competency of all their sea goers, including fishermen, mainly for personal safety and safe navigation at sea. Furthermore, this issue is no longer an issue of a few irresponsible fishermen who drank an unknown liquid believing that it was alcohol. This is now an international- and a national-level issue, as an international vessel had to change its route to save these fishermen, and various local agencies including the Navy had to get involved to bring the survivors and the deceased’s bodies back to land. These costs are borne by taxpayers who have nothing to do with the irresponsibility on the part of the above-mentioned fishermen. It is the main reason for this incident to be a lesson.

The fisheries sector is one of the major foreign revenue earning sectors which also greatly contributes to fulfil the protein needs of Sri Lankans. And it is a sector which has faced many hardships and challenges, both onshore and afloat. Just ask the fishermen in Jaffna, Mannar and Mullaitivu about the hardships of facing down Indian poachers who damage fish stocks, ram boats and destroy ecosystems, if you need examples. Given the dense traffic of merchant vessels which ply our seas, the distance away from shore our fishermen travel to fish, their safety and wellbeing should be top priority. However, the said incident has raised concerns about how prepared they are to engage in a risky job such as the fisheries sector. When we talk about preparedness, in relation to the said case, it is not about the trade of how to catch fish, and return. There needs to be a baseline training programme which covers safety and safe navigation at sea, perhaps a licensing programme for those who captain and crew multi-day fishing boats. There are similar programmes for fishermen who travel to the deep sea for fishing in many other countries. Yes, this tragedy was more to do with common sense, strategic thinking, risk assessment abilities, and above all, the ability to think logically. It cost them their lives, and the country had to deal with unnecessary expenses and tension. However, all of this can be mandated in a robust training programme, which we do not have.

In this context, we must understand the lesson we can gain from this, and take measures to prevent the recurrence of similar, tragic incidents. This incident should be a wake-up call for the authorities to restructure their training or similar programmes that target fishermen by incorporating subjects on logical thinking, emergency responses, first aid, and risk assessment. In the long run, such elements could also be incorporated into programmes targeting other risky jobs as well. 

At the same time, if there are no such programmes for those engaged in risky jobs, this is a reminder that Sri Lanka should pay attention to that. In addition, there should be a proper mechanism to periodically test these skills among those engaged in high-risk occupations. The authorities should see this as an investment, because the price the country has to pay due to a single irresponsible act, both in terms of money and tension, is huge.