Cultural Adaptation to Danger and the Safety of Commercial Oceanic Fishermen

This article describes the psycho-cultural adaptation to danger and its effect on safety practices among New England fishers. Denial and trivialization are common mechanisms used in coping with the dangers associated with their occupation. Examining concordance between Coast Guard data and fishers' accounts allows for the evaluation of the fishers' understandings about actual causes of fishing vessel accidents. Additionally, the article uses sociocultural correlations of variance in risk assessment to identify the types of fishers at high risk levels.