Abstract

During 2000–2009, 116 Gulf of Mexico (GoM) fishers were killed (23% of the US total) while working in the shrimp, finfish, oyster, clam, and crab fisheries. The purpose of this literature review is to identify injury-related risk factors to better assess the frequency and severity of injuries experienced by fish harvesters in the GoM. Methods: The method of this study is a comprehensive narrative literature review of findings useful for the prevention of fatal and non-fatal injuries among GoM fish harvesters published since 2005. Search engine terms were used to identify relevant literature that included fatalities, injuries, fatigue, and several other terms in combination (e.g., string search with “fishing”). Results: We reviewed 48 articles; the most common cause of fish harvester deaths in the GoM is falls overboard with scant use of personal flotation devices and vessel disasters in which flooding and collision were the most lethal. The root cause of errors resulting in many disasters may have been operator fatigue, but fatigue is also an adverse health effect resulting from working conditions. Non-fatal injuries arise from multiple sources that include working with gears, slips and trips, struck-by or against objects, machine or line entanglements, and falls. Conclusion: Principal risk factors are a lack of sleep aboard fishing vessels, vessel flooding and collisions, poor weather, slips on deck, contact with gear, not wearing personal flotation devices, poor swimming ability, and fishing alone on a vessel or the deck.

Highlights

  • Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world [1,2]

  • The most significant injury problem for both severity in the individual case and frequency of the condition identified in this review was Fall overboard (FOB) fatalities in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) which, along with non-fatal injuries, are linked to slippery and inherently unstable work platforms

  • Working alone in a boat or on deck negates or compromises rescue assistance as does not wearing personal flotation device (PFD) when exposed to a FOB

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Summary

Introduction

Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world [1,2]. In the UnitedStates, occupational fatalities within fisheries occur at rates much higher than national averages for all occupations. Fisher fatigue is an important job-related outcome as well as a risk factor on fishing vessels as reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization [3]. In 2010, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 509 commercial fishing deaths in the United States, 2000–2009. The US GoM region (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the west coast of Florida) accounted for 116 (23%) of the fatalities [4]. Another NIOSH study revealed 49 deaths in the GoM for the years 2010–2014 [5]

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