Introduction: Drowning is the leading cause of death among commercial fishermen in the United States. Approximately 30% of all commercial fishing fatalities are attributed to falls overboard. One of the simplest and most affordable ways to prevent these fatalities is for crewmembers to wear personal flotation devices (PFDs) while on deck. An examination of over 200 fatal falls overboard in the U.S. fishing industry revealed that none of the victims were wearing PFDs when they died. PFDs are not required to be worn by commercial fishermen in the United States, so this study was designed to encourage behavior change using targeted health communication and social marketing. Methods: This study developed, implemented, and evaluated a multi-media social marketing campaign featuring a fictitious, culturally-relevant spokesman designed to look, talk, and act like the target audience. The messages were crafted to address common barriers to PFD adoption and misconceptions about fleet-specific risks for fatalities from falls overboard. The campaign was evaluated over two seasons of fishing to look at message retention and intent toward action following exposure to the campaign materials. Results: Survey respondents indicated overall positive opinions about the spokesman and the messages. Results also show a reported change in behavior related to using PFDs while working on deck. Discussion: Targeted multi-media messaging can influence behavior of workers in high-risk occupations in remote locations. Safety message development should focus on occupational culture to create valid and authentic communication products for workers in high-risk industries. © 2022

Introduction: During 2000-2011, 35 injuries (8 fatal) involving winches were reported to the Coast Guard in the Southern shrimp fleet. Injuries involving the main winch drums had a higher risk for fatal outcomes compared to injuries involving the winch cathead (RR = 7.5; 1.1-53.7). The objective of this study was to design effective solutions to protect deckhands from entanglement hazards posed by winches found on the vessels in the Southern shrimp fleet. Methods: Based on injury characteristics, site visit observations, and input from vessel owners, NIOSH determined that the design and implementation of effective main-winch guarding was a feasible first-step in mitigating the entanglement hazard. Design considerations for stationary guards favor systems that are simple, affordable, durable, unobtrusive, and will not interfere with normal fishing operations. In addition, an auxiliary-stop method was tested to prevent entanglements in try-net winches. Results: Standardized passive guards were designed for three commonly found main winch models. Initial prototype guards have been sea-tested. The design of six additional guards is underway, for a total of three iterations for each winch model identified. These will incorporate features found to be valued by fishermen, will be more efficient, and will reduce the overall cost of fabrication and maintenance. Sea testing of these iterations continues. The auxiliary-stop circuit control prototype system was designed to prevent entanglements in the try-net winch and is currently being sea tested. Discussion: NIOSH has completed initial designs for stationary-winch guards. Through collaborations with shrimper associations and safety groups, the successfully tested winch guard and auxiliary stop designs will be made available to qualified welders and craftsmen to use. This approach has proven effective in preventing other types of winch injuries. Practical applications: Injury epidemiologic methods and industry input are an effective way to identify workplace hazards and to design effective safety interventions to control hazards.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to identify the predictors of personal flotation device (PFD) use among workers in the Alaska commercial fishing industry. METHODS: This study analyzed data from a questionnaire administered to fishing industry workers on four types of commercial fishing vessels in Alaska. Workers' risk perceptions of falling overboard, attitudes regarding PFDs, and other factors were compared using Chi-square tests. A forward stepwise procedure was used to fit multivariate logistic regression models predicting PFD use. RESULTS: PFD usage ranged from 0% reporting always using a PFD among longliners to 51% among trawlers. Among the statistically significant predictors of PFD use identified in multivariate models, the belief that PFDs were an entanglement hazard was inversely associated with any use of PFDs among longliners (OR 0.38; 95% CI: 0.20, 0.73) and gillnetters (OR 0.38; 95% CI: 0.19, 0.76). The belief that PFDs interfered with work was inversely associated with high use of PFDs among crabbers (OR 0.16; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.45) and with always using PFDs among trawlers (OR 0.35; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.78). Other significant predictors were specific to each vessel type. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase PFD use in the fishing industry should be tailored to each vessel type and focus on addressing the significant barriers to PFD use. Workers may increase PFD usage if they are familiarized with newer PFDs that have been tested and accepted by their peers.

INTRODUCTION: Alaska had the highest work-related fatality rate of any state during 1980-1989. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health established the Alaska Field Station (AFS) to address this problem. METHODS: AFS established surveillance systems to provide scientific assessments of occupational hazards. Interventions were developed in collaboration with partners and evaluated. RESULTS: During 2000-2009, Alaska experienced a 42.5% decline in work-related fatalities over the previous decade of 1990-1999. In 2009, the workplace fatality rate for Alaska was 5.6/100,000 workers. Commercial pilot deaths were reduced by 50% and Bering Sea crab fishing death rates were reduced by 60%. Building on this success, AFS established national programs to improve safety in the commercial fishing and oil and gas extraction industries. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: A focused, epidemiological approach to reducing fatalities in high-risk occupations is effective. Ongoing commitment to this type of approach will assist in continued success in Alaska and elsewhere.