January 26, 2012 — You can't dispute it: Fishermen are tough. They work in America's most dangerous job, and New England fishermen work in the country's most dangerous waters.
It's a psychological trait. In the New England fisherman's case, staying in an industry that reaches across generations against the odds of government regulation, the caprices of weather and mobile fish populations, and an unforgiving ocean requires ruggedness, individuality, ingenuity and perseverance of the highest order.
Toughness sometimes works against them, however, when it comes time to ask for help on a personal level, such as when there is a need for health care.
As regulators have cut their time at sea down to a few dozen days, the fisherman who gets most of the year's income from the ocean can hardly risk skipping a weeklong trip over a sore back, an infected wound or a bum leg.
There's a big difference, of course, between not using health care and not needing it, and fishermen definitely need it.
Read the complete opinion piece from The Standard-Times