Program Scoring and Rationale - Agriculture Forestry and Fishing Research at NIOSH - page 148

BOX 10-3
An Exemplary AFF Program:
Commercial Fishing Injuries and Fatalities, NIOSH Alaska Field Station
While the committee evaluated several projects in the AFF Program and found many of them lacking
relative to how a research program ought to conduct research, the work by the NIOSH Alaska Field Station
on commercial fishing safety has proven to be effective, and the station has executed its research according
to how an ideal program would operate.
NIOSH established the Alaska research field station in 1991 to address the high occupational fatality
rate in Alaskan commercial fishermen. Members of the field station quickly identified the excessively high
fatality rate in Alaskan commercial fishing of 200 per 100,000 per year for the 2-year period 1991-1992
(NIOSH, 2002). An epidemiologist was brought on to collect data on commercial fishing fatalities in Alaska
and used the Alaska Occupational Injury Surveillance System database to focus on industries, workers,
causes, and risk factors for injuries for priority setting and prevention research.
Members of the field station recognized that they did not have a good understanding of the commercial
fishing industry. Therefore, in October 1992, NIOSH sponsored the first National Fishing Industry Safety
and Health Workshop to
• Introduce members of the NIOSH Alaska research field station to the fishing industry.
• Identify players involved in commercial fishing safety.
• Learn about the fishing industry.
• Learn about existing regulations.
• Figure out how NIOSH could fit in and make a difference.
The meeting laid the foundation for how researchers would approach industry challenges, gave
researchers insight into differences among the various industry segments, and illuminated the need for
varied and flexible approaches to problems centering around people in the industry. Researchers developed
peer relationships with industry stakeholders, and information was easily exchanged between the two; U.S.
Coast Guard (USCG) has numerous copies of all publications written by the Alaska Field Station and refers
to them often. NIOSH has been a resource for the USCG Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Advi-
sory Committee. By walking the docks, talking to fishermen, and holding forums in numerous locations in
Alaska with fishermen from various fisheries, the Alaska Field Station staff were able to outline four main
categories of concern and set priorities for efforts according to magnitude of risk. In 1997, NIOSH published
a bulletin indicating that the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988 had contributed to
reducing deaths in the industry in Alaska, but the root issues that put people at risk persisted at the same
level. It went on to recommend 11 focused improvements.
The second National Fishing Industry Safety and Health Workshop, held in 1997, drew international
interest. Through forums and subcommittees, meeting participants outlined four main subjects of focus:
vessel sinkings, man overboard, deck injuries, and diving deaths.
Vessel Sinkings— As a result of NIOSH Alaska Field Station research on fishing vessel sinkings, USCG in
Seattle and Alaska initiated a standard practice of preseason boardings to conduct safety checks and advise
vessel operators of issues that need to be addressed before departure. That activity led to the development
of a voluntary commercial fishing vessel safety inspection and certification program that has now become