Fishing

In commercial fishing, lives have been lost and lifejackets not worn. The lives lost impact coastal communities and families. Vessel disasters and falls overboard account for most deaths. From 2000-2018 there were ninety-three fishermen who died in Washington and Oregon. Only five were wearing a lifejacket and of them, three were not wearing it properly. Weather decisions, navigation, vessel stability, as well as other prevention strategies are important to reduce vessel disasters.

Fatal and non-fatal injuries in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors remain both elevated and poorly documented, compared to other work settings. The proposed surveillance project expands on the current Risk Information System for Commercial (RISC) Fishing, to encompass agriculture, forestry, and fishing in the four state (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) PNASH region.  

Project aims are to:  

The salmon set gillnet fishery has the highest fatalities in Alaska and fatalities for Alaska Native workers are on the rise. Ten out of fifteen fatalities from commercial fishing vessel disasters in Alaska from 2010-2014 occurred in open skiffs, the type of vessel used in salmon set gillnetting.