Vanuku

[Kubrick]

Wrnuke's fishing industry: a fair and safe living
6 November 5592, Jvakten, Jelbic People's Soviet Republic of Wrnuke


The fishing vessel ST22, captained by Bolra Mrthotrjrzajad, sails out of the harbour of Jvakten in Northern Wrnuke.

The average modern Jelbic yearns for a safe way to make a good living, a way without the hindrances of the past. The modern Jelbic 'hunter' no longer goes out on a horse with a bow and hawk to find a few rabbits and other ground animals to later roast over a fire. Any person with a decent understanding of reality knows that such endeavours are wasteful, reactionary, and inefficient. Instead the modern Jelbic 'hunter' takes to the seas, thousands of years ago during the great migrations the sea was always the greatest obstacle for the Jelbic hordes. Horses are avid swimmers when led properly but often hesitate by the sea, for it is difficult to find your footing in the immense depths of the world's oceans. Nowadays the modern Jelbic has long left their horses at the stable, or running wild on the steppe. Instead they go by boat, modern fishing vessels are a common sight in the seas surrounding Wrnuke and all of them are manned by smart entrepreneurs and hard workers making good and safe wages. Captain Bolra Mrthotrjzajad is one of them, at 41 she is an experienced fisherwoman and invests heavily into modern technologies like sensors to monitor the fishing activity, as well as a national network that shows the quotas, current selling prices, any other information required for a good day out. Then there is also the use of artificial intelligence, scanners within the nets and hull storage scan the fish coming in, the fish swimming by, with the data analysis being done boats like Mrthotrjrzajad's ST22 can even help fight overfishing. Captain Mrthotrjzajad says these innovations are necessary for her to maximise productivity while minimising the effects of their fishing on nature: "Fishery is no longer the game it once was, labour costs are always slowly rising, the environment is only going to become more vulnerable, without modern innovations there is no way I would keep my business and ship afloat. Recent access to satellites have really changed the game for us as well, we basically know the activity of the fish before we even arrive in the area, it is no longer searching for that perfect spot it is simply sailing to that perfect spot. This saves time, fuel, and assures we do not fish for the wrong kind of fish that day, as we strictly follow the guidelines [read: the daily environmental protection fishery quota] laid out by the Ministry." The captain and her crew have applauded recent efforts by the government to improve the fishery industry in Wrnuke, saying that the investments in technological advances are a "god-sent". 

The high safety regulations, collective bargaining agreement, tax cuts, and government subsidies have made Wrnuke's fishing industry a desirable sector. This all in stark contrast to Kalistan's privateering business. Earlier this year the Empire of Kalistan pulled the letters of marque allowing privateers to ransack, rob, and murder those that dared to sail through certain parts of international waters claimed by Kalistan. The Ministry of Trade & Industry reported 1 fatality from Wrnuke's fishing industry this year, a case where a young fisherman failed to follow safety procedures ending in an unfortunate accident with loss of life. Kalistan's Foreign Ministry instead reported 68 dead or missing, a dark and regrettable difference. Furthermore the interview with a captain Parker released numbers about their employment as privateers, painting a bleak picture of the reality of this low-income business. The interview stated that Parker and his crew took away ₭350,000, equivalent to around 257,000 LFR in the current market. Calculations done by Opstmojadé Péashro economist Zahr-Abdlá Nagri-Zazrnamr show that the privateers on the Parker vessel made around  ₭14,538 per year before taxes. With 850 days at sea being spent 24 hours a day on duty this would come to an hourly wage of ₭2.87. If the crew would serve in 8 hour shifts this would be ₭8.60 an hour, but again this is all before tax. The Minister of Trade & Industry, Temrkai Tuzmhamék, is one of the pioneers behind the improved working conditions for Wrnuke's fishermen and has always maintained that low wages for a hard-working and modern profession such as manning a fishing vessel would be unacceptable. "Any person that spends time at sea is worthy of a liveable hourly wage, any time spent during storms and other bad weather should even receive a bonus as far as I am concerned." The wishes of the minister were made into law with the new collective bargaining agreement of 5592, assuring that in contrast to a decadent reactionary state like Kalistan the honest modern Jelbic fisherman of Wrnuke will always make a good wage. The minimum hourly wage in Wrnuke for fishermen is set at 18.50 LFR, with tax cuts and bonus payments for 'dangerous situations' assuring it will always remain a good wage too. Every day the Worldburnerist republic is showing the reactionary states of the world how much better life can be, a great victory for the Jelbic people's and for the Worldburner himself.

Opstmojadé Péashro (Revolutionary Vanguard) is a newspaper and current news website with a Jelbic nationalist and left-wing character.