Proceedings of the National Fishing Industry Safety and Health Workshop (2nd).Held in Seattle, Washington on November 21-22, 1997

摘要

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was proud to bea co-sponsor of the Second National Fishing Industry Safety and Health (FISH II) Workshop. This Workshop provided an excellent opportunity for professionals from the occupational safety and health community and the fishing and transportation industries to come together and discuss issues, problems, and solutions in the commercial fishing industry. Using the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF) surveillance system, NIOSH has found that occupational fatality rates in Alaska are dramatically high, especially in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries. Focusing on the commercial fishing industry, NIOSH surveillance data indicated that over 145 commercial fishing fatalities occurred in Alaska from 1991-1996. The occupational fatality rate for commercial fishing in Alaska is 20 times that of the overall U.S. occupational fatality rate. In the last five-year period, there has been a one-third reduction in the number of fishing fatalities. Despite improvement, there is still much that can be done.