Fatal falls overboard on commercial fishing vessels in Alaska

Lucas, Devin L.; Lincoln, Jennifer M.

doi:10.1002/ajim.20509

Cited by 35 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Across the nation, of all decedents recovered from a FOB, none wore a personal flotation device (PFD). In addition, 88 fatalities were caused by onboard injuries (51), diving (19), and onshore injuries (18). A vessel disaster is defined as a sinking, capsizing, grounding, fire, or other event that forces the crew to abandon ship [4], and a fatal FOB is defined as "unintentionally entering the water outside the hull of a commercial fishing vessel resulting in a fatality" [19].…”

Section: Gulf Of Mexico (Gom)-related Fatality Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gulf of Mexico Seafood Harvesters: Part 1. Occupational Injury and Fatigue Risk Factors

Myers

Durborow

Kane

2018

Safety

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During 2000During -2009 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.

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Section: Gulf Of Mexico (Gom)-related Fatality Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One study found that 71 fatal FOBs in Alaskan waters for the period, 1990-2005, were associated with fishers washed overboard by waves, loss of balance, pushed or pulled overboard by gear, not wearing PFDs, and unobserved, thus negating rescue [19].…”

Section: Non-gom Fatality Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gulf of Mexico Seafood Harvesters: Part 1. Occupational Injury and Fatigue Risk Factors

Myers

Durborow

Kane

2018

Safety

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“…In this study and others from several states, more than half of the drowning events were witnessed (8,26,27). Witnesses may not understand the immediacy of the danger, being unfamiliar with drowning risks associated with cold shock and swimming failure.…”

Section: Use Of Personal Flotation Devices (Pfd)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other states with substantial shorelines (rivers, lakes and marine), colder climates and sizeable rural populations (Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Maine) had drowning death rates between 1.25 and 1.81 per 100,000. Although several drowning prevention programs have been instituted and significant research has focused on occupational drowning deaths in Alaska, there has been limited examination of non-occupational drowning data (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drowning in Alaska: progress and persistent problems

Strayer

Lucas

Hull-Jilly

et al. 2010

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

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Objectives. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and describe the current problem of drowning in Alaska, measure changes in the rates since earlier studies have been done and compare occupational and non-occupational drowning characteristics. Study design. This is a descriptive observational study, using existing records obtained from several sources to describe and compare drowning victims and event characteristics. Methods. Drowning fatality data were collected from death certificates, law-enforcement reports and news articles. Descriptive statistics and risk ratios were calculated to compare levels of risk based on incident and victim characteristics. Results. During 2000-2006, 402 unintentional drowning deaths, 108 of them occupational, occurred in Alaska, with an average annual fatality rate of 8.9 deaths per 100,000 Alaskans. The victim population was 86% male and 44% Alaska Native; 40% drowned in the south-west region of Alaska. For non-occupational cases with alcohol use documented, 33% were associated with alcohol consumption, as were 78% of those involved with all-terrain vehicle crashes. Only 17% of non-occupational victims who drowned while boating wore a Personal Flotation Device (PFD). Conclusions. The drowning rate in Alaska during 2000-2006 was 8.9 drowning deaths per 100,000 population. This shows a decrease from the rate reported in a 1996 study, but several problems persist. Males and Alaska Natives had elevated risks for drowning. A substantial portion of fatalities were associated with alcohol consumption. PFD use remains low, and child drowning rates were unchanged from earlier studies. Increased data on water temperature and immersion time may help demonstrate the benefits of PFD use to those at risk. Social marketing efforts should be adapted for at-risk populations.

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“…Potential engineering and administrative controls for FOBs are shown in the left column of Table 2 [38]. The right column of the table shows potential protections against and escape options from line entanglements [39].…”

Section: Fall Overboard and Entanglement Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gulf of Mexico Seafood Harvesters: Part 3. Potential Occupational Risk Reduction Measures

Myers

Durborow

Kane

2018

Safety

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1. Background: Fishers face many occupational hazards that include a high risk of fatal and nonfatal injuries and a variety of adverse health effects. Our purpose is to provide an overview of potential countermeasures for the control of hazards that threaten the health and safety of Gulf of Mexico (GoM) fish harvesters. 2. Method: Search terms were used to identify relevant literature; two previous reviews regarding injuries and health risk factors also inform this review. 3. Results: Countermeasures against these hazards include winch guards, lifting devices, job redesign, non-slip decks and vessel stability controls as well as using personal flotation devices, wearing gloves and high-friction footwear, increasing sleep time and using vessel motion to assist lifting. Knowledge about secondary prevention (such as rescue, first aid and making mayday calls) is also important. Learning through experience is a crucial factor that incorporates other fishers' experiences with innovations. Fatigue and lack of sleep contribute to vessel disasters and injury-related errors. 4. Conclusions: The prevention of injuries and diseases among GoM fishers depends on a combination of focusing on work-processes, instilling a broader safety culture, engineering controls, identifying and sharing fisher innovations, promoting fall overboard prevention and protection and providing culture-based incentives, training and narrative outreach.

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Fatal falls overboard on commercial fishing vessels in Alaska

Cited by 35 publications

References 3 publications

Gulf of Mexico Seafood Harvesters: Part 1. Occupational Injury and Fatigue Risk Factors

Gulf of Mexico Seafood Harvesters: Part 1. Occupational Injury and Fatigue Risk Factors

Drowning in Alaska: progress and persistent problems

Gulf of Mexico Seafood Harvesters: Part 3. Potential Occupational Risk Reduction Measures

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