Abstract:
Commercial fishing is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States and
continues to suffer from a workplace fatality rate 23 times higher than that of general industry.
Currently, the leading causes of death are vessel disasters or falls overboard. Most of these
victims were not wearing personal floatation devices (PFDs) that could have had the potential to
prevent these tragedies. As part of my progress toward an MS in Environmental Health and
Occupational Hygiene, I was able to participate in the Fisherman Led Injury Prevention Program
(FLIPP), an effort through the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Center and the
University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences to
provide PFD outreach and education to the Washington and Oregon fishing communities to
encourage more frequent use of PFDs. Commercial fishing vessels are primarily regulated by the
United States Coast Guard. There is currently no specific regulation mandating PFD use on
board, though vessels are required to carry a PFD for each crewmember and store them in an
accessible place for emergency use. The federal regulations that apply to worker safety at sea in
the commercial fishing industry have a very complicated history in terms of development,
enactment, and enforcement. The industry went almost entirely unregulated until the enactment
of the 1988 Commercial Fishing Industrial Vessel Safety (CFIVS) Act, which resulted in
significant changes to safety standards and US Coast Guard (USCG) authority. Following this
major industry shift, there has been a major decrease in commercial fishing fatalities, though it
remains to have one of the highest fatality rates in the United States. Currently, there are doubts
about the effectiveness of the current USCG regulations and questions about whether significant
progress has been made since the CFIVS Act was passed. To address PFD issues more directly
with regional communities, various institutions like the Northeast Center for Occupational
Health and Safety and UW PNASH have developed outreach programs to increase the use of
PFDs by fishermen at sea in the hope of reducing industry fatalities. As part of this effort, I was
able to engage with fishing workers at two major events in Seattle to provide PFD samples for
try-on, administer PFD ranking surveys to collect information, and provide other health and
safety resources, such as a Stop the Bleed training and a PNASH Linktree page. My experience
on the FLIPP team cemented my commitment to pursuing a career in environmental health and
safety and provided me with a far deeper understanding of the unique commercial fishing
industry that inspires me to stay involved in the community.