Fishing Safety

Commercial Fishing Safety

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Commercial fishing is a vital industry that provides food for people in the U.S. and around the world. In Oregon and Washington, there are 10,364 commercial fishing vessels with $835,670 dollars in sales per year. Commercial fishing can be physically demanding, involving long hours, harsh weather, and changing work environments. All of these factors can create safety risks for fishermen. PNASH collaborates with Oregon State University to engage commercial fishermen to reduce the risk of injury and keep them fishing. Visit our Partners at OSU

Our collaboration began with a small study looking at nonfatal injuries among commercial fishing workers. This study provided information on nonfatal injuries reported to the US Coast Guard for commercial fishermen in Washington, Oregon and California from 2002-2014.

Our current project Risk Information System for Commercial Fishermen, uses US Coast Guard information with other public datasets to estimate injury risk and risk factors in commercial fishing in the Pacific Northwest. We developed a novel system to provide hazard assessments for commercial fishing stakeholders. This project has developed training resources and safety tools for fishermen's health and safety. See below to view the resources or learn more about research to improve safety in commercial fishing.

 

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Risk Information System for Commercial (RISC) Fishing

These resources use risk information on the hazards unique to the industry to provide commercial fishery stakeholders with guidance and tools.

Risk Information Infographic
Linking Data for Risk
Information

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Understanding Risk Sheet
Understanding Risks for
Better Training

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Hazard worksheet
Hazard Sheet

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Commercial Fishermen’s First-Aid Kit

Every vessel must have a first aid kit and every fisherman should know what should go into a kit that will really help in situations they might find themselves in at sea. These resources were developed by the Fishermen Lead Injury Prevention Program (FLIPP) led by Oregon State University.

Commercial Fishing Crew Agreements

Commercial fishermen think a good crew agreement can help reduce the risk of injuries and establish a positive relationship among the crew. Understand what goes into a good crew agreement and use the template (either paper version or an online version) to help you get this in place with your crews. These resources were developed by the Fishermen Lead Injury Prevention Program (FLIPP) led by Oregon State University.

Regional and National Resources

NIOSH

National

NIOSH

WA sea grant

Washington

Sea Grant

Sea Grant

Oregon

Sea Grant

OSU

Oregon

OSU

 

In the News

Fishermen’s News, December 2022 Slips, Trips & Falls: Don't Fall For It

PNASH Resources

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Support Mental Health

This fact-sheet shares tips for supporting the mental health of commercial fishermen.

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Scene Assessment

This video teaches how to safely assess the scene when someone is hurt on a fishing vessel and the first steps to take.

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Calling The Coastguard

This video teaches the proper protocol for calling the coast guard from fishing vessel.

PNASH Research

Tracking Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Health Indicators: RISC 2.0

NIOSH Funding Period 2022-2027 | Viktor Bovbjerg, PhD, MPH

Fatal and non-fatal injuries in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors remain both elevated and poorly documented, compared to other work settings.

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Fishermen Led Injury Prevention Program (FLIPP) for Lifejackets Mobile Program

NIOSH Funding Period 2022-2027 | Laurel Kincl, PhD, CSP

In commercial fishing, fatalities occur when those lost were not wearing a lifejacket.

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Safety Surveillance for Pacific Northwest Commercial Fishing: Risk Information System for Commercial (RISC) Fishing

NIOSH Funding Period 2016-2022 | Laurel Kincl, PhD, MS

This project is working to develop the RISC Fishing surveillance system, a new analytical system for merging multiple vessels and personal databases of fatal and non-fatal information. 

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