PACIFIC COUNTY, Wash. — Commercial crab fishing is a lucrative industry in Washington, generating tens of millions in the state's economy. That said, it’s a dangerous job; the CDC reports that nearly 900 U.S. fishermen have died on the job in the last two decades.
“Fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world," said Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democratic congresswoman for Washington's 3rd district.
Now, with crabbing season just around the corner, Gluesenkamp Perez is hoping we learn from what she considers past mistakes.
“This bill will help ensure more fishermen are equipped with the personal safety equipment they need to be located during an emergency," she said.
She introduced legislation in Washington D.C. on Thursday that is centered around a wearable product called personal locator beacons. The devices can send location signals to emergency responders if a mariner falls overboard.
Gluesenkamp Perez calls her new bill The Bryson Fitch Fishermen Protection Act. It would award companies with a tax credit for 50% worth of costs incurred if they buy a beacon for everyone on board. It would also award individuals with the same percentage of their cost, as a personal tax credit.
When it comes to personal locator beacons, Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier of the U.S. Coast Guard said, "We encourage all mariners to wear them, especially commercial fishermen."
Noticeably, he used the term "encourage." A maritime accident lawyer in Seattle said because they are not required, there is no current incentive for companies to buy them for their fishermen. Personal locator beacons typically cost around $400 each.
"It is, you know, an additional expense that companies don't always want to incur," said Nigel Stacey, maritime lawyer and partner with law firm Stacey and Jacobsen.
Had 23-year-old crab fisherman Bryson Fitch been wearing one on the day his company's vessel Ethel May sank in February, his mother-in-law Briee Roby believes, "They would have found him."
However, Fitch remains missing, and the tragic situation has left his wife, three kids and sister Kelsea Broddy without closure.
Broddy told KING 5, "The not knowing is like the hardest part.”
Both Fitch’s wife, McKenzie Salas, and mother-in-law Briee Roby, said they hoped Gluesenkamp Perez's legislation would mandate personal locator beacons, especially when you compare them to the cost of a rescue like Fitch's.
"They could have saved so much money if he would have been wearing a beacon," said Roby.
But they also said they believe this bill is a step in the right direction.
"I hope we can honor his legacy by making fishermen safer," said Gluesenkamp Perez.
Fitch's wife Salas said, "We love and miss Bryson more than one could imagine. Bryson would be honored to be helping save lives in his name."