Thursday, January 11, 13:30 – 15:00, Lebanon Room
PROGRAM
Navigating Regulatory and Organizational Uncertainties to Address Health and Safety
Moderated by Ingunn Marie Holmen with presentations by:
What can we learn from the Maine Near-miss Survey of Commercial Fishermen and Aquaculturists?
The Maine Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Council (CFSC), a state-legislated Council under the auspices of the Maine (US) Department of Marine Resources, developed and disseminated a survey to collect data on commercial fishing near-misses in the state of Maine. This survey falls under the rubric of citizen science, as it was developed by fishermen for fishermen and sent via the Maine Department of Marine Resources to commercial fishermen and aquaculturists licensed in the state of Maine. The questions covered near-misses related to injury and property loss, incidence avoidance, presumed causes, and types of injuries sustained or avoided. The survey queried what types of training respondents had had and what training would be helpful in the future.
Ann Backus, secretary of the CFSC, will discuss the data and report on the discussions that Janine Drouin, CFSC chairperson, has lead with Council members. Results include that 46% of the respondents reported having been involved in a near-miss incident and 28% reported having sustained a work-related injury. Forty-three percent of the reported injuries were to hands. Rope was reported as being the cause of 37% of the near-misses.
Backus will also discuss how teaming up with occupational medicine physicians, Vasileia Varvarigou, MD, and Saad Salman, MD, MPH, for a deeper statistical dive into the survey data provided additional insights into the near-miss incidents and produced recommendations for a more comprehensive survey that could be used by other researchers.
The session will include a discussion of the role of citizen science in fishing research.
Occupational Safety and Health in United States Aquaculture
While attending IFISH5, we saw knowledge gaps related to occupational safety and health (OSH) and aquaculture in the United States (U.S.), which provided the stimulus for our work. This presentation describes findings from a non-systematic review of OSH in the U.S. aquaculture sector. The objectives of our research and this presentation are to: i) describe the U.S. aquaculture sector, ii) summarize statistics, peer-reviewed studies, and reports focused on U.S. aquaculture OSH, and iii) describe the policy landscape specific to U.S. aquaculture OSH. Through the literature, we identified numerous physical, chemical, and biological OSH risks depending on production methods and settings. We also present data on U.S. violations observed by OSHA and injuries and fatalities reported to OSHA from 2009-2019. Continued OSH research is needed to inform policies related to the expansion of the aquaculture sector, particularly the move towards offshore aquaculture in U.S. federal waters, which could bring new risks for workers.
HSE for contractors in Norwegian aquaculture
Fish farming companies in the Norwegian aquaculture industry relies heavily on services from contractors in relation to maritime transport of fish, fish related products (e.g.fodder), maintenance etc. There is little research on how health and safety management works across the organizational interfaces in the industry, and the general HSE situation for contractors. The regulatory framework might also be inadequate and not well adapted to how the industry is organized. Based on a major questionnaire survey (N=1283) involving personnel from companies and contractors, the HSE situation for contractors will be addressed, as well as differences in hazards and accident exposure between the different actors. Measures for improving health and safety for contractors in the industry will be discussed.
Occupational health and safety survey in Norwegian fish farming
Norway is a leading producer and exporter of Atlantic salmon (Salmo Salar). Open sea-based net cages near the coast and in fjords has been a key technology since the beginning of the industry in the 1970s. The Norwegian coastal zone is long and sheltered, and has suitable sea temperature for the salmon, which is an important advantage for Norwegian aquaculture. Production in these areas is curbed, however, by the lack of access to new production licenses and suitable sites as well as environmental regulations. In recent years, new production systems, for land based, closed and offshore locations have been emerging.
A safe working environment for all employees is important for a sustainable aquaculture industry, and ambitions for growth and new production systems require companies, suppliers, and regulators to prioritize occupational health and safety measures. Suitable measures must be based on knowledge about challenges that stand out in different production forms. This is the goal of the project “”OHS in aquaculture – risk management in different production forms””, where interviews, workshops, accident analysis as well as a survey are conducted.
This presentation will share findings from the “”OHS-survey in aquaculture 2023″”, where 1283 respondents have participated. Participants include fish farm workers, vessel crews and operative workers in the supplier industry. The survey was conducted digitally during the period May to August 2023. The survey design was based on a previous survey from 2016, and finalized after inputs from representatives from the industry, trade organizations and regulators. Findings show that most participants enjoy their work (88%), but many worry (62%) that their work may affect their health negatively. Furthermore, 62% of participants have experienced near misses in the last two years, and 17% have had work-related sick leave in the last year.