J

obs in commercial fishing have consistently ranked among the most deadly. In

19th century Gloucester, Massachusetts,

for example, the town lost each year about

200 fishers, 4 percent of its population, to

the sea. Although fishing, like almost all

other occupations, is considerably less

dangerous today than in the past, it is still

the single most deadly occupation according

to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of

Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

Fishers face a risk of death on the job that

is 20 to 30 times greater than any other single

occupation. Between 1992 and 1996 (the

latest year for which data are available),

between 50 and 100 fishing deaths occurred

each year. This translates into 140 deaths per

100,000 workers engaged in the occupation

over the period. For occupations as a whole

over the same period, the fatality rate was 5

per 100,000.

Vessel casualties

Fishing boats often travel great distances

from home ports in search of their quarry,

and far from safety. In the open seas, storms

can have incredible destructive power that

can easily send a typical fishing boat to the

bottom. Ocean storms have been known to

produce waves over 100 feet high—the

dreaded “rogue wave.” But other perils can

also sink or capsize a vessel: striking an

underwater object, a rock for example, or

colliding with another vessel in the fog, can

have the same result.

Vessel casualties were the leading cause of

fishing deaths, often involving multiple

fatalities, from 1992 through 1996. Half of

fishing deaths, 197, involved sinking,

capsizing, collisions, explosions, and fires

(see chart).

Persons Overboard/Sunk Vessels: Fishing Jobs Continue to

Take Deadly Toll

Summary 98-6

June 1998

Person overboard

Rogue waves aren’t the only forces capable

of pulling a fisher into the sea. Lesser waves

may do the same thing. Going overboard also

can be a consequence of tripping over or

being caught in fishing gear. Or, slipping on a

wet or icy deck can have similar consequences, or being pulled overboard by a hook

caught in one’s clothing, or having a fishing

line wrap around one’s legs are all examples

of incidents classified as “falls from ship or

boat.” These falls—almost a fifth of all fisher

fatalities—accounted for 70 deaths during the

1992-96 period.

Diving and other fatalities

Sometimes crew members are called upon to

untangle nets or lines snagged on the ocean

floor or in ships’ propellers. Even experienced, certified divers hired to go after sea

cucumbers and other sea life face hazards

such as poor weather conditions, murky

water, unexpected underwater currents,

snagged air lines, equipment malfunction,

decompression problems, and dangerous

marine life.

Drownings accounted for a sixth of the

recorded fishing deaths between 1992-96.

Most of these were diving related.

Other hazards related to the fishing

industry, however, tend to be more typical

of the workplace generally. These include

electrocutions, being caught in winches and

other machinery, homicides, and aircraft

crashes. Deaths resulting from these causes

accounted for the remaining fishing fatalities.

Other considerations

Fishing in cold waters is inherently riskier

because of hypothermia. Fishers who go

overboard into extremely cold water are at

risk of hypothermia, as well, and can only

last 6 to 7 minutes immersed before dying.

Alaska, with one of the Nation’s smallest

workforces, accounted for the largest number

(112) of fishing deaths in 1992-96 (see table).

Distribution of fatal events for fishing occupations, 1992-96

NOTE: Number of fatalities = 380.

Vessel casualties

Fall from ship/boat

Drowning, submersion

Other events 

52.0%

18.0%

16.0%

14.0%
In Alaska, harvesting most commercial crab

species takes place during the winter when

air and sea temperatures are at their lowest;

high winds, snow, sleet, ice, and high seas are

common and daylight hours shorter.

 Number Percent

Total .................................................................................. 380 100

Alaska ....................................................................................... 112 29

Massachusetts ........................................................................ 32 8

Texas ........................................................................................ 31 8

Florida ....................................................................................... 26 7

Oregon ..................................................................................... 21 6

California .................................................................................. 21 6

Washington .............................................................................. 20 5

Louisiana .................................................................................. 18 5

North Carolina .......................................................................... 18 5

Maine ........................................................................................ 17 4

Hawaii ....................................................................................... 14 4

Other ........................................................................................ 50 13

1

Includes fishers, captains, and other fishing vessel

officers.

2These 50 fishing fatalities are distributed over the

remaining 30 States and the District of Columbia.

2

They also include 7 fatalities occurring outside any

States territorial waters. None of these States accounted for more than 5 fishing fatalities.

Fishing occupation1 fatalities by State, 1992-96

Other cold-water States, such as Maine,

Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington,

also had disproportionately high numbers of

fishing deaths.

The kind of marine life fishers go after also

plays a major role in fishing fatalities. For

example, shellfishers are more at risk of

dying on the job than are finfishers. During

1992-96, shellfishing with 160 fatalities,

accounted for one-third more deaths than

finfishing with 119 fatalities. These figures

are even more startling because the shellfishing industry employed just three-fifths as

many workers as the finfishing industry, and

the weight of the shellfish catch was less

than one-sixth that for finfish.

Additional information

This report was adapted from “Fishing for a

Living is Dangerous W ork,” Compensation

and Working Conditions, Summer 1998. For

additional information, contact Dino Drudi,

(202) 606-6175, e-mail: Drudi_D@bls.gov

Information in this report is available to

sensory impaired individuals. Voice phone:

(202) 606-7828; TDD phone: (202) 606-

5897; TDD message referral phone:

1-800-326-2577. This material is in the

public domain and, with appropriate credit,

may be reproduced without permission.

State