The Irish Examiner View: Dying for the cause of food supply

Last year 46 people died in workplace accidents. Farming was the most dangerous, 18 deaths were recorded in the sector. This, the Health and Safety Authority reported, represented a 20% rise from 15 deaths in 2018.

In a metric that captures one of the dilemmas facing the industry, 13 victims were over 60 years of age, 10 were over 70 and two over 80. These deaths underline one of the great costs of food production most of us never consider.

Everyone of those deaths was tragic but they did not leave doubt, mystery or unsettling uncertainty. Most of those tragedies were not exacerbated by unanswered questions as so many of the unexplained deaths among those working at sea to put fish on our tables.

There is a constant toll exacted on those who go to sea in pursuit of fish. That risk is tipping the balance for more and more operators considering leaving the sector.

The collapse of fish prices since Europe's restaurants closed in the face of coronavirus is another factor as is the concentration of catching power in the hands of ever fewer large fleets or super trawlers. The need to manage diminishing stocks ever-more firmly hardly adds to the sense of optimism in the sector.

Varying access rights to fisheries, and quotas, are also frustrating factors for the Irish fleet.