BBC Scotland’s Ian Hamilton and Daniel Bennett, today:
Fishermen are being warned they are putting themselves at risk of preventable illness and even death by delaying seeking medical advice. Amanda Nithavrianakis, whose skipper husband John died of cancer at the age of 52, [2018] believes his attitude of self-reliance and toughness contributed to the delay in his diagnosis and treatment.
The above is then connected with this:
The number of active fishermen in Scotland has declined to about 3,800, according to a 2023 report by the Scottish government.
Not mentioned of course:
Most recent figures show that in 2023, Scottish-registered fishing vessels landed 487 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish with a value of £655 million. This represents an increase of 62 thousand tonnes (15%). https://www.gov.scot/publications/provisional-scottish-sea-fisheries-statistics-data/
OK, let’s think about this.
The decline in the number of fishermen going to sea is not bad news because it’s just bigger and/or more efficient boats requiring fewer crew.
The decline in the number of fishermen going to sea is not bad news because it means fewer of them struggling to keep medical appointments.
Why are we reading about this case from 2018 now?
How and why did Mrs Nithavrianakis make contact with BBC Scotland?
Why is BBC Scotland trying to suggest that fewer fishermen has something to do with cases like this?
Finally, in a 2019 Daily Record story on Mrs Nithavrianakis’ poetry book, we read:
John was half Cretan and his family is there.
We’re left to wonder when he arrived in Scotland and which health service was responsible for him when he started to become ill.
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Those bigger more efficient boats, run by the only people in Scotland who can afford them, the five families, and effectively putting smaller boats out of business perhaps?
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A long time ago the foreign crews on these fishing boats were in the headlines for being exploited by the owners, some perished in a fire on board while in harbour.
Surprises me BBC haven’t gone back to these stories to blame ScotGov.
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Utter desperation for another Scotland “Bad Story” from the goons in Pacific Quay.
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Within the bilge which BBC Scotland published in this article, there are lines of enquiry which any genuinely investigative journalist might have pursued. (This implies that there might actually be such creatures as ‘investigative journalists’ or whether the concept is one of self aggrandisement which bibulous hacks came up with after a long liquid lunch.)
It is likely that Mrs Nithavrianakis is a grieving widow, arguing sincerely for action on the things I have mentioned above, but has been exploited by hacks to produce a ‘Scotland is shite’ narrative.
Alasdair Macdonald
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John Nithavrianakis was born in Scotland. His father owned a cafe in Castle Douglas in the 1970’s.
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If you take a walk on the pier in Peterhead when the boats come in you will find that most of the crew are from the Philippines this is due to the greed of the few families that own the boats. Anything to save them money.
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