iFish6

Given U.S. governmental intent to expand marine aquaculture operations in state and federal waters, a need exists for increased occupational health and safety research in this emerging sector. This pilot project used in-depth interviews and worksite observations to collect exploratory data about shellfish aquaculture work tasks, hazards and health impacts, and currently employed mitigation strategies from producers in the Chesapeake Bay coastal shellfish aquaculture industry. Interviews occurred in 2019-2020, and partcipants (n=9) were 100% male, Maryland and Virginia-based owner-operators, with 1 – 20 years’ experience in the industry. Major preliminary findings include reports of injuries and illnesses ranging from mild to severe, and current risk mitigation strategies spanning the hierarchy of controls. Often, risk reduction is not implemented until a close call or injury/illness event, and respondents reported having very little guidance regarding setting safety priorities or implementing interventions. These data characterize potential risks from producers’ perspectives, and highlight urgent needs for guidance, risk reduction strategies, and further research in the U.S. shellfish aquaculture production context.

Introduction: A critical component for implementation of interventions is accounting for the personal and contextual factors. Chronic back pain is highly prevalent in aquaculture workers who often face stressors of time-dependent production cycles, high physical demands, and limited medical care.

Methods: Contextual and personal factors impacting adoption of participatory ergonomic interventions in a pre-post study involving clam aquaculture farmers in the USA will be presented. The implications for interventions are compared to aquaculture and artisanal clam gatherer characteristics published in papers from Spain, Brazil, and Tanzania.

Results: Contextual characteristics impacting choice of delivery included size and structure of the work teams, processes and work tasks, business model, team culture, equipment, and internet availability. Personal factors differed considerably. Individualized choices of ergonomic modifications using both team and individual strategies accommodated personal preferences and characteristics. Introduction in the workplace matched time limitations with considerable buy-in from younger workers. The participatory approach and team support were received positively. In comparison to artisanal workers from Brazil and Spain, clam farmers had more access to equipment and higher educational levels. Consistent with other papers, environmental challenges, time constraints, lack of training, and technology limitations required modifications. Self-efficacy was high in the Florida clam farmers facilitating adoption, while pain anxiety and coping skills improved with the intervention.

Conclusions: The context of the work model differs considerably for small aquaculture operations. Individual choices tailored to work tasks and introducing concepts in the workplace accounts for time constraints, builds team support, and matches preferences for learning. However, wide dissemination of approaches is more complicated and requires attention at industry levels. Further investigation of individualized approaches to accommodate for varied characteristics is needed to establish if these approaches lead to longer-term benefits.

Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations due to high injury rates. While numerous studies have investigated fatality preventions, limited research is available on non-fatal injuries. Recent studies have shown that many non-fatal injuries among commercial Dungeness crab fishermen are musculoskeletal disorders, which often occurs during crab pot handling. Therefore, there is an urgent need for effective interventions to reduce risks associated with musculoskeletal disorders. US Pacific Northwest fishermen developed an intervention, referred to as a “banger bar”. Fishermen tip and bang a crab pot against this bar so that the pot can be emptied with less effort and motion. Despite its expected benefits, including reduced awkward postures and forceful exertions, this fishermen-developed intervention had not been scientifically evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine whether a banger bar would reduce musculoskeletal loads associated with commercial Dungeness crab harvesting tasks. Twenty-five male participants were recruited to a laboratory study. Participants were selected based on demographics of the fishermen population and had no musculoskeletal pain or disorders. Each participant performed manual crab harvesting tasks in five different intervention conditions: no banger bar (control) and bars of differing heights and designs. The study results demonstrated that the banger bar significantly reduced joint angles and moments about the lumbosacral and shoulders, low back and shoulder muscle activity, and perceived exertion measures. The results indicates that the banger bar may have potential to reduce risks for musculoskeletal disorders, especially in the low back and shoulder regions during crab harvesting.

Seaweed farming using pegs and ropes in shallow water was introduced in Zanzibar over 30 years ago and became an important livelihood source for farmers, 80% of whom are women. Since then however, the onset of climate change has worsened productivity and work conditions, which have taken their toll on women’s health, economic and social benefits from the activity. To reverse this situation, Sea PoWer, an NGO promoting seaweed farming innovation for women’s empowerment, has been piloting the use of “tubular nets”, a technique enabling the farming of seaweed in deeper water where sea temperature and salinity conditions are more favourable to seaweed growth than close to the shore. Tubular nets are showing promise over the traditional peg and rope technology in improving seaweed productivity, and in reducing the risks of feet injury from fish stings and stepping on sharp shells or corals, gynaecological infections from long hours spent sitting in the water untangling ropes, or musculoskeletal pain from daily forward-bending to tend seaweed plots and carrying heavy weights of wet seaweed on the head. However, they also challenge current knowledge, practices and gender norms as they require swimming and boat handling skills that women do not have, but which are paramount for women to continue farming seaweed safely and remain in control of an income generating activity they have so far dominated (in numbers). Working hand in hand with local partners, as well as supportive men from the communities, Sea PoWer has so far successfully trained approximately 45 women to swim, hop on boats from the shore safely, wear life jackets systematically, and learn complementary organisational and seaweed processing skills, thus building their confidence to stay safely engaged in seaweed farming, to grow their recognition among their peers and inspire other women, and to assert their rights and voice as important players in the industry. As the Government of Zanzibar is handing out boats to encourage seaweed farming communities to farm further offshore to adapt to climate change, it is essential that a holistic approach is used to accompany this type of productivity enhancing initiative.

Artisanal (small-scale) fishers are responsible for a large percentage of the marine fish caught globally. They use small and sometimes old, primitive vessels, such as dug-out canoes which are passed from father to son. The fishers often tend to fish alone in order to keep their fishing spots secret. The remoteness of fishing villages means traditional Search and Rescue services are not readily available. Artisanal marine fishing therefore has always been and remains a high-risk occupation.

German, Indian and South African partners pioneered a holistic solution which has been in operation in South Africa since 2013. It uses modern AIS tracking and VHF radio technology to inform and connect a local shore-based operator about and with the fishers at sea respectively. Other fishers and the community at large get involved in addressing and resolving any calamity at sea. The technology has been developed such that skills needed are easily taught in a few days. No on-going maintenance or technical intervention is required. No grid-power, cellphone or internet connections are needed.

Extra benefits are geo-fencing, to warn fishers and the operator when a vessel approaches no-go areas, as well as traceability of all fish caught.

The presentation will go into the detail of how the different needs of various fishing communities have been and are being met. It will showcase the reliability of the solution and the beneficial effect it has on communities. The possible benefits of new features and technologies will be touched upon.