What are our priorities? The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies (CMSHS) addresses the unique hazards within the maritime industries: Commercial Fishing, Aquaculture, Seafood Processing, Shipyards, Marine Terminals, Marine Transportation, and Commercial Diving. CMSHS works with partners in industry, labor, trade associations, professional organizations, other Federal and State agencies, and academia. What do we do? 1. Conduct research to identify and reduce risk factors for injuries, fatalities, and vessel casualties. 2. Conduct research on work-related illness, including epidemiologic analyses and field exposure assessments. 3. Design and evaluate interventions to decrease or control hazards. 4. Build partnerships with industry, labor, and other organizations to conduct research and promote scientific findings, practical recommendations, and intervention technologies. What have we accomplished? 1. Published regional technical reports summarizing the most recent fatality and vessel disaster data and recommendations for the commercial fishing industry in
Alaska, the West Coast, East Coast, and Gulf of Mexico. 2. Entered into a formal partnership with Yale University Maritime Research Center to coordinate research, communication and professional development efforts, and implement workplace interventions. 3. Conducted sea-trials of model winch guards and auxiliary-stop devices for deck winches on commercial shrimp vessels in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. 4. Established written agreements with two commercial fishing companies to review injury and illness claims data to find patterns and opportunities for interventions. 5. Published document
"Assessment of Safety in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Island Crab Fleet" which describes work-related injuries and vessel safety issues for the fleet and discusses opportunities for safety improvements. 6. Provided technical assistance for a project to reduce traumatic injury hazards among Dungeness crab fishermen. 7. Delivered Keynote Address for the Washington State Maritime Safety Conference. What's next? 1. Publish analyses of trends in injury and illness claims in the seafood processing industry. 2. Disseminate recommendations in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services on lead exposure prevention in shipyards. 3. Co-sponsor the 2018 Fishing Industry Safety and Health Conference in cooperation with Memorial University, Newfoundland; the Northeast Agriculture Center; and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The conference will include sessions discussing safety and health research success in commercial fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing. 4. Publish analysis of major marine vessel casualties that have occurred in the U.S.
