Health in fishing communities: A global perspective

Abstract

In resource‐dependent communities such as fishing communities, human health underpins the ability of individuals and families to maintain viable livelihoods. Fishing is a dangerous occupation, in which fishers are exposed to health risks both on and offshore. Many of these risks and associated health concerns also extend to fishing families and wider communities. Despite the importance of health, there is a lack of understanding of the breadth of health issues affecting people associated with fishing. This study presents the findings of a scoping review of peer‐reviewed literature that identifies the range of health issues and health determinants studied in fishing communities around the world. The findings reveal a wide variety of documented health issues, but with greater emphasis on physical health and occupational and behavioral factors, with limited attention paid to mental health. The majority of studies focused on fishers themselves, as opposed to other subgroups within fishing communities. Geographic differences in the health topics investigated highlight prevalent concerns and offer potential to share insights and solutions across contexts. The breadth of findings illustrates the complexity of health for people dependent on fishing, and the relevance of the many health determinants in maintaining viable fishing communities. We propose that a social well‐being approach offers an integrative lens through which a better understanding of human health in fisheries can be achieved and used to inform fisheries management that is ecologically and socially sustainable.

Tackling alcoholism and domestic violence in fisheries—A new opportunity to improve well‐being for the most vulnerable people in global fisheries

“…It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that the biennial “State of the World's Fisheries” report for 2018 (titled ‘Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals’) fails to include a single mention of alcoholism or domestic violence (FAO, ). However, awareness of issues around mental and physical health in fisheries are growing (King, Kilpatrick, Willis, & Speldewinde, ) and actions such as a fisheries‐specific occupational health service, awareness raising and education, or periodic medical screening, have been proposed potential solutions in some parts of the world (Woodhead, Abernethy, Szaboova, & Turner, ), with fruitful collaborations between fishers' welfare groups and mental health charities (see Seafarers UK, ). In Vietnam, programmes seeking to address culturally rooted framings of masculinity that perpetuate violence intimate partner violence have instigated constructive discussions to understand the pressures men face in certain fishing communities and redefine masculinity in more positive terms (Hoang, Quach, & Tran, ).…”

Noise Exposure and its Relationship with Hypertension among Fishermen in Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam

“…Besides, fishermen's exposure with many risk factors for hypertension such as salty diet; alcohol, tobacco consumption at abuse level could have contributed to the results in this study. 15,16 Comparing with the previous literature, hypertenstion of fishermen varied worldwide from 15% to 70%. We found that hypertension prevalence varies in different countries, such as 24.5% in Indian research or only 15% hypertensive fishermen in Nigerian research on 400 fishermen.…”

Fostering human health through ocean sustainability in the 21st century

“…More people will be affected in the coming years. Among the direct and obvious impacts are the deaths and morbidity through drowning and injury experienced by individuals affected by flooding caused by sea level rise and storm surges arising from more extreme weather events as well as in marine occupations (Depledge, ; Woodhead, Abernethy, Szaboova, & Turner, ). Anthropogenic chemical toxicity (e.g.…”