Multilingual crews on Norwegian fishing vessels: Implications for communication and safety on board

Abstract

In the last few decades, use of foreign labor in the Norwegian fishing fleet has increased. As fishing is a high-risk occupation, this article investigates a prevalent question regarding how the increased share of foreigners affects communication and safety on Norwegian fishing vessels. The article shows that multilingual crews and varying language proficiencies are not perceived by the fisheries actors themselves as risk factors in terms of safety in everyday operations. Fishing experience, hybrid language and body language compensate for language challenges and contribute to fishers' feeling of safety.