Tag Archives: health risks

Study finds health risks, care gaps for Downeast fishermen

A soon-to-be-released study from the University of Maine at Machias finds that Downeast clammers and lobstermen face steep barriers to healthcare access, despite greater risks of job-related injuries and other health issues that can sometimes lead to substance use disorders. Tora Johnson, the lead author and an associate professor, said the study is one of the first of its kind to focus on Downeast Maine, where fisheries are big economic drivers. “It’s pretty clear from the results here that harvesters are struggling to treat pain, and they experience a lot of it, and they get minimal help from the healthcare sector in treating that pain appropriately,” she said. “And so it’s pretty obvious that we need some new solutions.” >click to read< 08:44

COVID-19 restaurant downturn, health risks pack double blow to tribal fishers, salmon business

On the 147-mile stretch of the Columbia from Bonneville Dam to McNary Dam, the only commercial fishing allowed is by the four Columbia Plateau tribes that signed treaties with the federal government in 1855. The treaties ensure the fishing rights of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. Despite those treaties, dwindling salmon runs have forced the tribes to strike a delicate balance between their rights to the salmon, other commercial and recreational fishers, and protecting the environment. >click to read< 14:25