Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2002-0049-0069
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-03-19T05:00Z

3
Compensation
and
Working
Conditions
Summer
1998
Fishing
for
a
Living
is
Dangerous
Work
Fishing
has
consistently
ranked
as
the
most
deadly
occupation
since
1992,
when
BLS
started
publishing
fatality
rates
by
occupation.
Workers
in
this
occupation
face
unique
life­
threatening
hazards
 
vessel
casualties,
falling
overboard,
and
diving
incidents.

BY
DINO
DRUDI
Dino
Drudi
is
an
economist
in
the
Office
of
Safety,
Health
and
Working
Conditions,
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics.
Telephone:
(
202)
606­
6175
E­
mail:
Drudi_
D@
bls.
gov
E
ach
year
during
the
19th
century
Gloucester,
Massachusetts
typically
lost
to
the
sea
about
200
men
employed
in
fishing
 
4
percent
of
the
town's
population.
Since
1650,
the
sea
has
claimed
an
estimated
10,000
Gloucester
residents.
Sometimes
a
storm
would
hit
the
Grand
Banks
and
half
a
dozen
fishing
ships
would
go
down
 
100
men
lost
overnight.
On
more
than
one
occasion
Newfoundlanders
awoke
to
find
their
beaches
strewn
with
the
stormtossed
corpses
of
those
who
toiled
on
New
England
fishing
boats.
1
While
fishing,
like
almost
all
other
occupations,
has
become
less
dangerous
in
recent
years,
the
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics'
Census
of
Fatal
Occupational
Injuries
(
CFOI),
since
its
inception
in
1992,
has
reported
fishers
as
the
single
most
deadly
occupation
2
Persons
engaged
in
this
work
typically
face
a
risk
of
suffering
a
fatal
job
injury
20
to
30
times
greater
than
the
risk
for
all
occupations.
For
the
years
1992
through
1996,
the
most
recent
year
for
which
data
are
available
there
were
between
50
and
100
fishing
fatalities
annually.
This
translates
into
140
fatalities
per
100,000
workers
engaged
in
the
occupation
for
the
5­
year
period.
(
See
table
1.)
By
contrast,
the
fatality
rate
for
all
occupations
during
this
same
period
was
5
per
100,000.
Although
in
the
19th
century
more
than
1
out
of
25
Gloucester
fishermen
were
killed
on
the
job
each
year,
for
the
period
1992
through
1996,
the
number
of
commercial
fishing
workers
killed
on
the
job
annually
averaged
1
out
of
716.
This
translates
into
61
fatal
injuries
per
1,000
workers
over
a
45­
year
fishing
work
lifetime.
3
This
article,
discusses
fatal
occupational
injuries
to
fishers
for
the
period
1992­
96
and
does
not
include
any
analysis
of
their
nonfatal
occupational
injuries
and
illnesses.

Vessel
casualties
Commercial
fishing
vessels
often
travel
a
long
way
from
their
home
ports
in
search
of
ever­
dwindling
fish
stocks,
and
fish
great
distances
from
shore.
Perils
to
fishing
vessels
include
storms,
which
can
produce
"
rogue
waves"
 
also
known
as
"
freak
seas"
or
"
non­
negotiable
waves"
 
over
100
feet
(
30
meters)
high,
and
fog
which
hinders
safe
navigation.
Rogue
waves
often
are
several
ordinary
waves
that
get
"
in
step"
to
form
veritable
piles
of
water
or
they
are
leftover
waves
from
earlier
storms
that
circumnavigate
the
globe
and
strike
in
otherwise
relatively
calm
seas.
They
4
Compensation
and
Working
Conditions
Summer
1998
have
incredibly
destructive
power.
To
illustrate,
in
1973,
a
12,000­
ton
ship
broke
in
half
on
her
maiden
voyage
after
being
struck
by
a
rogue
wave.
The
following
year,
a
132,000­
ton
tanker
fell
into
a
huge
trough
caused
by
a
rogue
wave.
A
crew
member
remarked
"
There
was
no
sea
in
front
of
the
ship,
only
a
hole ."
The
ship
then
took
an
equally
huge
wave
over
her
bow
which
crumpled
a
1­
inch
(
2
½
­
centimeter)
thick
steel
plate,
twisted
railroad­
gauge
I­
beams
into
knots,
and
tore
off
the
entire
bow
bulb!
Rogue
waves
have
the
power
to
devastate
a
typical
fishing
boat.
4
Rogue
waves
are
not
the
only
ocean
peril
that
can
sink
or
capsize
ships.
Ships
might,
for
example,
strike
a
submerged
rock
or
collide
with
another
vessel
in
the
fog.
Vessel
casualties
were
the
leading
cause
of
fishing
fatalities
and
often
involved
multiple
deaths.
From
1992
through
1996,
half
of
fishing
fatalities
 
197
cases
 
involved
vessel
casualties,
such
as
sinkings,
capsizings,
or
collisions.
(
See
table
2.)
Often
the
bodies
of
the
deceased
are
never
found,
particularly
if
they
go
down
with
the
ship,
wash
ashore
in
some
remote
place,
or
enter
the
food
chain
of
higher­
level
marine
life.

"
Person
overboard!"
It
isn't
only
rogue
waves
that
are
capable
of
washing
fishers
overboard
or
tilting
the
deck
enough
to
cause
them
to
slip
into
the
water.
Lesser
waves
also
wash
fishers
overboard.
But
wave
action
is
not
the
only
way
a
fisher
can
go
overboard,
as
the
following
accounts
demonstrate:

A
fisherman
on
board
a
113­
foot
(
34­
meter)
crabbing
vessel
was
thrown
overboard
when
a
crab
pot
line
he
was
straddling
suddenly
tightened.
5
Baiting
has
all
the
glamour
of
a
factory
shift
and
considerably
more
of
the
danger.
The
line
is
spooled
on
a
big
drum.
It
crosses
diagonally
over
the
deck,
passes
through
an
overhead
block,
and
then
bends
straight
back
toward
the
stern.
A
steel
ring
guides
it
over
the
rail
and
into
the
water.
That's
where
the
baiters
stand.
There's
a
bait
table
on
top
of
the
stern
rail
 
basically
a
wooden
well
with
squid
and
mackerel
[
baitfish]
in
it
 
and
a
leader
cart
on
either
side.
The
leader
carts
are
small
drums
spooled
with
hundreds
of
lengths
of
seven­
fathom
line
called
gangions.
Each
gangion
has
a
#
10
hook
at
one
end
and
a
stainless
steel
snap
on
the
other .
The
baiter
reaches
behind
him
and
takes
a
gangion
from
his
back­
up
man,
who's
peeling
them
off
the
leader
cart
one
at
a
time.
The
baiter
impales
a
squid
or
mackerel
onto
the
hook,
snaps
the
gangion
onto
the
mainline,
and
throws
the
whole
thing
over
the
side.
The
hook
is
easily
big
enough
to
pass
through
a
man's
hand,
and
if
it
catches
some
part
of
the
baiter's
body
or
clothing
he
goes
over
the
side
with
it .
The
crew's
looking
the
other
way,
the
hook's
got
you,
and
suddenly
you're
down
at
the
depth
where
swordfish
feed .
6
Going
overboard
as
a
consequence
of
slipping
on
a
wet
or
icy
deck,
being
pulled
overboard
when
lines
wrap
around
one's
legs,
being
washed
overboard
by
a
wave,
pulled
overboard
by
a
hook,
or
flung
overboard
by
a
line
suddenly
tightening
are
examples
of
incidents
which
are
classified
as
"
falls
from
ship
or
boat."
These
types
of
falls
accounted
for
70
fatalities
 
almost
one­
fifth
of
the
total
during
the
1992­
96
period.
(
See
table
2.)
Fishers
who
go
overboard
into
very
cold
water
are
at
risk
of
hypothermia
 
the
cooling
of
the
core
body
temperature
This
condition
causes
shivering,
loss
of
muscle
coordination,
unconsciousness
and
even
death.
7
Unless
wearing
a
survival
suit
or
a
personal
flotation
device
(
life
jacket),
a
fisher
could
not
withstand
more
than
6
or
7
minutes
immersed
in
very
cold
water
before
succumbing.

Diving
 
an
emerging
hazard
Diving
fatalities
are
beginning
to
be
recognized
as
an
emerging
hazard
in
the
fishing
industry.
8
Sometimes
crewmembers
with
little
formal
diving
training
or
experience
are
called
on
to
dive
below
water
to
untangle
nets
or
lines
that
have
snagged
on
the
ocean
floor
or
in
the
boat's
propellers.
Even
experienced,
certified
scuba9
divers
hired
to
dive
for
sea
cucumbers
and
other
aquatic
life
often
face
numerous
hazards
such
as
adverse
sea
and
weather
conditions,
10
murky
water,
unexpected
shifts
in
underwater
cur­
Table
1.
Fatal
occupational
injuries
for
fishing
occupations,
1992­
961
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
Total
1992­
96
Number
Rate
Number
Rate
Number
Rate
Number
Rate
Number
Rate
Number
Rate
Fishing
occupations
......................
92
156
91
154
67
131
58
103
72
153
380
140
Captains
and
other
officers
......
20
 
12
 
10
 
7
 
6
 
55
 
Fishers
.....................................
72
141
79
154
57
136
51
113
66
178
325
144
1
Rates
represent
the
number
of
fatal
occupational
injuries
per
100,000
employed
workers
and
were
calculated
as:
(
N/
W)
x
100,000,
where
N
=
the
number
of
work
injury
fatalities
to
workers
16
years
of
age
and
older.
W
=
the
number
of
employed
workers
16
years
of
age
and
older.
100,000
=
per
100,000
workers.
Employment
figures
are
annual
average
estimates
of
employed
civilians
16
years
of
age
and
older
from
the
Current
Population
Survey,
1992­
96.
2
Based
on
the
1990
Occupational
Classification
System
developed
by
the
Bureau
of
the
Census.
Fishing
occupations
is
an
aggregate
of
fishers,
and
captains
and
other
fishing
vessel
officers.
3
Dashes
indicate
rates
for
captains
and
other
fishing
vessel
officers
do
not
meet
publication
standards.
3
Occupation2
5
Compensation
and
Working
Conditions
Summer
1998
rents,
entanglement
of
air
lines,
scuba
equipment
malfunction,
decompression
problems,
and
encounters
with
dangerous
marine
life.
11
The
60
drownings
that
occurred
during
1992­
96
accounted
for
one­
sixth
of
fishing
fatalities.
(
See
table
2.)
Most
of
these
drownings
involved
diving
activities.
A
variety
of
other
hazards
that
tend
to
be
more
typical
of
workplaces
generally
 
such
as
electrocutions,
being
caught
in
winches
and
other
machinery
homicides,
and
aircraft
crashes
 
accounted
for
the
remaining
fishing
fatalities

Economic
and
demographic
characteristics
Commercial
fishing
vessels
travel
on
long
voyages
far
from
shore
in
search
of
ever­
dwindling
fish
stocks.
These
large
boats,
often
capable
of
hauling
a
catch
weighing
many
tons,
and
sometimes
having
on­
board
processing
facilities,
require
a
crew
with
a
wide
range
of
specialized
skills.
As
a
prerequisite,
fishers
must
be
in
good
health,
and
possess
physical
strength
and
coordination.
They
must
also
possess
the
mechanical
aptitude
to
operate
maintain,
and
repair
on­
board
machinery
and
fishing
gear,
and
the
perseverance
to
perform
strenuous
outdoor
work
and
endure
long
hours
at
sea
often
under
difficult
conditions
12
Often
the
proceeds
from
the
fish
catch
are
apportioned
among
the
crew
based
on
the
market
price
the
catch
brings
when
landed
in
port
 
an
elaborate
kind
of
piecework
pay
scheme.
The
pay
can
be
quite
rewarding
 
$
4,000
or
more
per
month.
Many
of
the
individuals
employed
in
fishing,
such
as
college
students
taking
fishing
jobs
during
the
summer
to
meet
high
tuition
bills,
13
are
highly
motivated
to
face
these
risks
and
withstand
these
rigors
because
the
pay
is
so
attractive
Others
are
highly
motivated
because
they
find
themselves
unemployable
in
other
lines
of
work
and
they
end
up
in
fishing
as
a
last
resort,
while
still
others
fall
in
love
with
fishing
as
a
line
of
work
and
a
way
of
life.
14
These
factors
may
work
in
tandem
to
produce
a
workforce
more
motivated
and
able
to
push
limits
that
would
dissuade
or
disable
workers
in
other
industries.
Fishing
in
cold
waters
is
inherently
riskier
because
of
hypothermia.
Alaska,
with
one
of
the
Nation's
smallest
workforces,
accounted
for
the
largest
number
of
fishing
fatalities
during
the
1992­
96
period.
(
See
table
3.)
Moreover,
some
specific
Alaska
fishing
activities
are
particularly
hazardous
For
example,
harvesting
most
commercial
crab
species
in
Alaska
takes
place
during
the
winter
when
air
and
water
temperatures
are
colder;
high
winds,
snow,
sleet,
and
ice
are
more
prevalent;
daylight
hours
shorter;
and
high
seas
are
more
common.
15
Other
cold­
water
States
 
such
as
Massachusetts,
Oregon,
Washington,
and
Maine
 
also
had
disproportionately
high
numbers
of
fishing
fatalities
Industry
analysis
suggests
that
persons
engaged
in
commercial
shellfishing
are
more
at
risk
of
dying
on
the
job
than
those
engaged
in
commercial
finfishing.
16
During
1992­
96,
shellfishing
with
160
fatalities,
accounted
for
one­
third
more
deaths
than
finfishing
with
119
fatalities,
despite
the
fact
that
the
shellfishing
industry
employed
only
three­
fifths
as
many
workers
as
the
finfishing
industry17
and
the
weight
for
the
commercial
shellfish
catch
was
less
than
one­
sixth
that
for
finfish.
The
commercial
dollar
value
of
the
shellfish
catch,
however
is
nearly
equal
to
that
of
the
finfish
catch,
in
part,
as
a
consequence
of
the
greater
risk
involved
in
shellfishing.
18
In
addition,
there
were
16
commercial
fishing
fatalities
in
the
miscellaneous
marine
products
industry
(
sea
cucumbers,
sponges,
seaweed,
Table
2.
Fatal
events
or
exposures
for
fishing
occupations,
1992­
96
Fatal
event
or
exposure
Number
Percent
Vessel
casualties
..................................................
197
52
Fall
from
ship
or
boat
............................................
70
18
Drowning,
submersion
..........................................
60
16
Other
events
or
exposures
...................................
53
14
1Sinkings
and
capsizings
accounted
for
154
of
the
197
vessel
casualties.
The
remaining
43
vessel
casualties
resulted
from
collisions,
vessel
explosions
and
fires,
and
all
other
water
vehicle
incidents
except
falls
from
ship
or
boat.

Table
3.
Fishing
occupation1
fatalities
by
State,
1992­
96
State
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.
2
These
50
fishing
fatalities
are
distributed
over
the
remaining
39
States
and
the
District
of
Columbia,
and
also
include
7
fatalities
occurring
outside
any
State's
territorial
waters.
None
of
these
States
accounted
for
more
than
5
fishing
fatalities.
1
2
6
Compensation
and
Working
Conditions
Summer
1998
sea
urchins,
etc.),
and
55
in
general
commercial
fishing.
Miscellaneous
amusement
and
recreation
services,
which
includes
fishing
guides,
accounted
for
10
fatalities.
The
remainder
were
scattered
over
various
industries
While
Current
Population
Survey
data
show
self­
employed
individuals
comprise
at
least
three­
fifths
of
employment
in
fishing
occupations,
they
accounted
for
just
over
a
third
of
the
fatalities
during
this
period.
This
may
be
due
to
a
variety
of
factors,
such
as
self­
employed
fishers
being
limited
by
economies
of
scale
to
more
familiar
local
waters.
Moreover,
because
some
types
of
fish
can
only
be
taken
at
certain
times
of
the
year,
many
self­
employed
fishers
engage
in
fishing
on
a
part­
time
basis.
During
1992­
96,
fishing
fatalities
tracked
age
group
employment
fairly
closely,
except
that
the
25­
to
34­
yearold
age
group
experienced
a
disproportionately
high
share
of
the
fatalities
while
the
55­
to
64­
year­
old
age
group
experienced
a
slightly
lower
share.
Non­
Hispanic
persons
from
racial
categories
other
than
white
and
black
 
such
as
Asians,
Pacific
Islanders
American
Indians,
Eskimos,
and
Aleuts
 
comprise
7
percent
of
fishing
employment,
but
at
least
16
percent
of
fishing
fatalities.
19
Conclusion
This
article
builds
on
the
research
undertaken
by
the
National
Institute
for
Occupational
Safety
and
Health
(
NIOSH),
which
has
published
several
special
studies,
most
of
which
have
focused
on
the
fishing
industry
in
Alaska.
20
Census
of
Fatal
Occupational
Injuries
(
CFOI)
data
supplement
the
NIOSH
studies
and
provide
information
on
hazards
facing
those
engaged
in
commercial
fishing
occupations
throughout
the
United
States.
Because
fish
are
believed
to
have
various
dietary
benefits,
per
capita
fish
consumption
in
the
United
States
has
increased
by
20
percent
over
the
past
two
decades.
Overall
per
capita
fish
use
 
which
includes
both
food
consumption
and
industrial
fish
products
such
as
fishmeal
and
crushed
oyster
shells
 
has
increased
30
percent.
21
Although
the
United
States
is
still
a
net
importer
of
fish,
exports
of
edible
fish
products
have
tripled
in
weight
and
doubled
in
dollar
value
during
the
past
decade,
while
imports
have
remained
stable.
During
this
time,
exports
of
industrial
fish
products
increased
nearly
60­
fold
to
over
$
5
billion,
while
the
dollar
value
of
industrial
fish
product
imports
barely
doubled.
22
Fishing
employment
has
declined
from
an
estimated
59,000
in
1992
to
47,000
in
1996.23
This
decline,
which
has
taken
place
in
the
face
of
an
increased
demand
for
fish,
is
a
consequence
mainly
of
the
declining
supply
of
fish
due
to
overfishing.
But,
as
the
demand
for
fish
grows,
and
meeting
that
demand
requires
ever
longer
voyages
and
greater
efforts,
these
factors
working
in
tandem
have
the
potential
to
increase
the
hazards
of
fishing
occupations
and
negate
any
fatality
decreases
that
stricter
safety
regulation
may
have
afforded.
Indeed,
in
1996,
when
the
CFOI
all
employment
fatality
rate
reached
its
lowest
level
since
the
program
began,
the
rate
for
fishers
jumped
to
178
fatalities
per
100,000
employment
 
the
highest
it
has
been
since
the
CFOI
program
began
collecting
data
in
1992.
In
1996,
the
rate
for
fishing
occupations,
which
includes
fishers,
and
captains
and
other
fishing
vessel
officers,
reached
its
highest
level
in
3
years.

Technical
note
The
lifetime
risk
for
a
specific
industry
or
occupation
was
calculated
using
an
equation
proposed
by
the
Occupational
Safety
and
Health
Administration
in
1995:
WLTR
=
[
1
­
(
1
 
R)
y]
x
1,000
where:
WLTR
=
working
lifetime
risk;
R
=
probability
of
a
worker
having
a
work­
related
fatal
injury
in
a
given
year;
1
 
R
=
probability
of
a
worker
not
having
a
workrelated
fatal
injury
in
a
given
year;
y
=
years
of
exposure
to
work­
related
injury
(
1
 
R)
y
=
probability
of
surviving
y
years
without
a
work­
related
fatal
injury;
1
 
(
1
 
R)
y
=
probability
of
having
a
work­
related
fatal
injury
over
y
years
of
employment.
In
this
study,
y
was
set
at
45
years.
This
assumes
workers
are
exposed
to
work­
related
injury
hazards
for
approximately
45
years,
starting
at
age
20.
The
formula
is
then
multiplied
by
1,000
to
derive
the
number
of
fatal
occupational
injuries
per
1,000
workers,
as
follows:

R
=
0.0014
=
140
fatalities
per
100,000
employment
=
a
0.14
percent
probability
of
a
worker
having
a
work­
related
fatal
injury
in
a
given
year;
1
 
R
=
1
 
0.0014
=
0.9986
=
a
99.86
percent
probability
of
a
worker
not
having
a
fatal
occupational
injury
in
a
given
year;
(
1
 
R)
45
=
0.998645
=
0.9389
=
a
93.89
percent
probability
of
surviving
45
years
without
having
a
work­
related
fatal
injury;
1
 
(
1
 
R)
45
=
1
 
0.9389
=
0.0611
=
a
6.11
percent
probability
of
having
a
work­
related
fatal
injury
over
45
years
of
employment

While
it
is
tempting
to
view
the
inverse
of
0.0611
(
1:
16)
as
the
probability
a
worker
faces
of
suffering
a
fatal
occupational
injury
over
a
theoretical
45­
year
fishing
career,
because
of
such
factors
as
turnover,
the
risk
should
be
expressed
on
a
per
1,000
worker
basis
as
follows:

[
1
 
(
1
 
R)
45]
x
1,000
=
0.0611
x
1,000
=
61
fatalities
per
1,000
employment
over
a
45­
year
period
comprising
a
working
lifetime.
7
Compensation
and
Working
Conditions
Summer
1998
1
Sebastian
Junger,
The
Perfect
Storm,
W.
W.
Norton,
New
York,
1997,
pp.
44­
45.
2
For
1996,
the
occupation
with
the
next
highest
rate
is
timber
cutters
at
157,
followed
by
airplane
pilots
(
88),
structural
metal
workers
(
85),
and
extractive
occupations
(
67).
3
For
a
good
explanation
of
the
methodology
used
to
derive
this
statistic,
see
David
E.
Fosbroke,
Suzanne
M.
Kisner,
and
John
R.
Myers,
"
Working
Lifetime
Risk
of
Occupational
Fatal
Injury,"
American
Journal
of
Industrial
Medicine,
Vol.
31,
Wiley­
Liss,
Inc.,
1997,
pp.
460­
61.
See
Technical
note
at
the
end
of
this
article.
4
Junger,
The
Perfect
Storm,
pp.
114­
15,
123,
150.
5
NIOSH
Alert:
Request
for
Assistance
in
Preventing
Drownings
of
Commercial
Fishermen
National
Institute
for
Occupational
Safety
and
Health,
Publication
No.
94­
107,
April
1994,
p.
4.
6
Junger,
The
Perfect
Storm,
pp.
52,
70.
7
NIOSH
Alert:
Request
for
Assistance,
p.
2.
8
Commercial
Fishing
Fatalities
in
Alaska:
Risk
Factors
and
Prevention
Strategies,
National
Institute
for
Occupational
Safety
and
Health,
Current
Intelligence
Bulletin
58,
September
1997,
p.
12.
9
Scuba
is
an
acronym
for
self­
contained
underwater
breathing
apparatus.
10
Commercial
Fishing
Fatalities
in
Alaska,
p.
12.
11
Occupational
Outlook
Handbook,
1998­
 
ENDNOTES
 
99
Edition,
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics,
Bulletin
2500,
January
1998,
p.
417.
12
Ibid.,
pp.
416­
18.
13
NIOSH
Update:
College
Students
May
be
Risking
Their
Lives
on
Fishing
Vessels:
Working
in
the
Alaska
Fishing
Industry
is
one
of
the
Nation's
Most
Hazardous
Jobs,
National
Institute
for
Occupational
Safety
and
Health,
Publication
No.
94­
111,
April
1994.
14
For
a
fuller
discussion,
see
Junger,
The
Perfect
Storm,
pp.
15,
48­
49.
15
Commercial
Fishing
Fatalities
in
Alaska,
pp.
ix,
2.
16
Shellfish
include
cephalopods
such
as
squid,
crustaceans
such
as
lobster
and
shrimp,
and
univalve
and
bivalve
mollusks
such
as
abalone
and
clams,
whereas
finfish
 
such
as
shark,
tuna,
and
salmon
 
are
all
vertebrates.
Some
of
the
hazards
confronting
shellfishers
are
different
from
those
confronting
finfishers.
For
example,
shellfishing
for
king
crab
is
done
using
cages
called
"
pots"
 
some
weighing
over
700
pounds
(
318
kilograms)
 
which
are
stored
on
the
deck
where
they
might
fall
on
someone,
whereas
finfishers
do
not
use
pots.
Many
types
of
finfishing,
such
as
long­
lining,
however,
make
use
of
numerous
hooks,
which
can
puncture
and
pull
a
fisher
overboard.
17
Industry
employment
figures
are
from
the
Covered
Employment
and
Wages
(
also
known
as
the
ES­
202)
program.
See
the
annual
publication
Employment
and
Wages,
Annual
Averages,
for
the
years
1992
through
1996.
18
Fisheries
of
the
United
States,
1996,
National
Marine
Fisheries
Service,
Current
Fishery
Statistics
No.
9600,
July
1997,
pp.
iv,
10­
13.
Weights
for
all
fish
are
reported
in
round
weight
(
defined
as
weight
of
fish
as
taken
from
the
water
the
complete
or
full
"
live"
weight
when
caught),
except
for
univalve
and
bivalve
mollusks
which
are
reported
in
meat
weight
(
excluding
the
shell).
19
Employment
data
for
race
and
age
are
derived
from
the
Current
Population
Survey.
20
See
Fosbroke,
Kisner,
and
Meyers,
"
Working
Lifetime
Risk;"
Richard
D.
Kennedy
and
Jennifer
M.
Lincoln,
"
Epidemiology
of
Fatal
Injury
in
the
U.
S.
Commercial
Fishing
Industry,"
Safety
and
Health
in
Agriculture,
Forestry,
and
Fisheries
Government
Institutes,
Inc.,
Rockville,
Maryland,
1997,
pp.
557­
70;
Patricia
G.
Schnitzer,
Deborah
D.
Landen,
and
Julie
C.
Russell,
"
Occupational
Injury
Deaths
in
Alaska's
Fishing
Industry,
1980
through
1988,"
American
Journal
of
Public
Health,
Vol.
83,
No.
5,
May
1993,
pp.
685­
88;
NIOSH
Alert:
Request
for
Assistance;
Commercial
Fishing
Fatalities
in
Alaska;
NIOSH
Update:
College
Students
May
be
Risking
Their
Lives.
21
Fisheries
of
the
United
States,
pp.
125,
127.
22
Ibid.,
pp.
98,
106.
23
Employment
data
are
derived
from
various
sources
including
the
Current
Population
Survey;
the
Occupational
Outlook
Handbook,
p.
417;
and
CFOI.