Abstract

YANES, Leopoldo  and  PRIMERA, Carmen. Conditions of life and work fishermen’s at the occident of Venezuela. Salud de los Trabajadores [online]. 2006, vol.14, n.2, pp.13-28. ISSN 1315-0138.

The objective of this research was to determine the influence of work conditions on the health of artisan fishermen of Villa Marina community, Los Taques municipality, Falcon state, in Venezuela. This was a descriptive study employing qualitative and quantitative methods (i.e., individual survey, semistructured interview, participative observation and a collective survey), where worker knowledge was reconstructed from fishermen selfreported experiences. Twenty-four fishermen were selected based on the following criteria: artisan fisherman as main work activity, more than one year of experience, resident in the Villa Marina community, and voluntary agreement to participate in the study. Average age was 29 years; 100% entered the profession before the age of 18 years and more than half (62,6%) before 14 years of age. Artisan fishing is a rudimentary activity where artisan tools (small boats and various fishing nets) predominate, together with low productivity. The process can be grouped into two main activities: fishing itself and mainland activities. The organization of work in artisan fishing is complex and presents multiple mediations. The work day is highly variable, and depends on the type of fishing, lunar phases, and the type and abundance of fish species. Artisan fishermen lack labor stability. With respect to fishing activity, fishermen do not enjoy much in the way of vacation rest periods. Only one or, at most, two days off are common, usually coinciding with official or religious holidays. Health problems associated with this type of work, reported by the fishermen, included eyerelated problems such as pterygium and conjunctivitis, low back pain, other back pain, arthralgias, tinea, rinopharyngitis, hearing loss, and sleep disorders.

Keywords : fishermen; work conditions; occupational health.