Not a single Alaska commercial fisherman died in a vessel-related incident during the 2014-2015 federal fiscal year . This was the first time this has happened in Alaska's commercial fishing industry, which notoriously has the highest mortality rate among occupations. Increased safety awareness and new fishing regulations are believed to be the main factors behind the decline in fishing deaths. New regulations replaced derby-style fishing with individual quotas, which relieved fishing pressure within a certain time frame and reduced the number of boats competing for fish. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essay31 commercial fishermen died on average in Alaska between 1980 and 1988. That number dropped to 13 per year between 2000 and 2009. Commercial fishing in Alaska consisted of a certain number of days that you could fish, but other than that it was essentially a free-for-all. A fishing season that used to last up to several months has been reduced to several 24-hour periods per year. These restrictions were put in place to protect fish populations. Although these restrictions were effective, they had the unintended consequence of making fishing much more dangerous. These 24-hour periods during which you could fish were selected months in advance by government regulators. Some of these periods fell on days of severe weather and forced fishermen to go to sea in dangerous conditions. Of the 148 fatal ship accidents that occurred in the United States between 2000 and 2009, 61 percent of the accidents were due to extreme weather conditions. In 1995, individual halibut quotas replaced the derby-style fishery in Alaska. Instead of a massive fight during the 24-hour derby period, individual boat owners were assigned a quota of fish they could catch each season. This meant that fishermen could go out fishing at any time during the season, as long as they did not catch more fish than their quota allowed. Fishing boats were no longer required to venture out to sea during specific 24-hour periods to catch as many fish as they could. With the quota system, if the weather looked gloomy, fishermen could simply choose not to go out and wait for the weather to clear up. Under the old system, these 24-hour periods were the only hours one could fish. Thus, even when bad weather was on the horizon, fishermen were forced to take their chances and put to sea, which greatly contributed to the risk of commercial pollution. fishing in Alaska. Another positive safety consequence of the quota system is the reduction in the number of boats that went to sea. Under the quota system, boat owners could lease their fishing quotas to other fishermen who wanted to catch more fish than they were allowed. The remaining boats would be manned by the most experienced fishermen and the reduction in the number of fishing boats contributed to the decrease in the number of fishermen deaths. The change in attitude towards safety also contributes to an improved safety record. Fishermen are better prepared with training in first aid and safety protocols. The increased use of life jackets and the standard use of beacons on boats have helped reduce the number of deaths in boating accidents..