Tag Archives: commercial fishing safety

Commercial Fishing Safety on the West Coast

In 2009, NIOSH completed an in-depth study of commercial fishing fatalities in the United States for the decade spanning 2000-2009. The purpose of the study was to identify the most hazardous fisheries around the country and to describe the unique safety issues in each. For this study the US was divided into four fishing regions: Alaska, West Coast, East Coast, and the Gulf of Mexico. The results of this analysis for the West Coast region can be found in the document,,, >click to read< 13:18

Report released about Shea Heights fishermen’s tragedy

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) released its report Monday about the sinking of the 22-foot open boat Pop’s Pride and the loss of four Shea Heights fishermen in September 2016. The findings have confirmed what many in the tight-knit St. John’s community have believed since the accident — the fishermen went out that morning in questionable weather conditions; the way the cod stewardship fishery was set up caused fishermen to take risks in order to land their weekly quotas; and small fishing vessels do not have sufficient communication and safety equipment onboard. The four Shea Heights fishermen, including three generations of the Walsh family — Eugene, Keith and Keith Jr. — and close friend Billy Humby, were lost after their boat overturned off the coast of Cape Spear. click here to read the story 20:16

Canadian government announces funding to improve commercial fishing safety

The Canadian government has announced a new Commercial Fishing Safety component of the Government of Canada’s Boating Safety Contribution Program. Under this new component, up to $300,000 per year for the next three years will be available to support education and awareness initiatives that promote safe boating practices onboard small commercial fishing vessels across Canada. Read the rest here 14:58

NIOSH’s commercial fishing safety arm was slated for the chopping block in a proposed fiscal year 2013 budget

23523_354387901211_7651997_aUltimately, NIOSH must wait for a budget to pass to know what the funding level will be, said Public Affairs Officer Christy Spring. The Alaska Pacific Office is responsible for fishing vessel safety nationwide, despite its Alaska location. more@alasksjournalofcommerce