West Coast fishing death rate high

Published 10:31 pm Thursday, April 24, 2008

SEATTLE — A new report from the federal government says fishing off the West Coast of the United States has one of the highest death rates in commercial fishing — even higher than in waters off Alaska.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health released a report Thursday detailing the hazards of fishing in the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. The report said those three states combined for a fatality rate more than twice as high as the national commercial fishing average between the years of 2000 and 2006.

The report underscores the continuing hazards of commercial fishing, one of the most dangerous occupations in the country, but it dispels the notion that fishing in Alaska is the most dangerous.

The fatality rate from the three West Coast states, the report found, was more than twice as high as the death rate from ocean fishing off Alaska.

Adjusting for the unusual work schedules of commercial fishermen, researchers found that death rates among fishermen in Alaska worked out to about 1.07 deaths per 10,000 full-time fishermen between 2000 and 2006. In contrast, during the same time period, the three Pacific Coast states combined for a rate of 2.38 deaths per 10,000 full-time fishermen. Nationwide, the fatality rate for commercial fishing in the period was 1.15 deaths per 10,000 fishermen. For all occupations nationwide, the fatality rate was .04 deaths per 10,000 workers.

“Although Alaska’s Bering Sea crab fishery has been described as the most dangerous fishery, data from this analysis indicate that the Northwest Dungeness crab fleet had a greater number of fatalities and a higher fatality rate during 2000-06,” Jennifer Lincoln, the head researcher, wrote in the report.

Lincoln said the fishing industry and government offices can learn from the initiatives taken in Alaska that have helped reduce deaths, such as preseason safety inspections and emergency training. Also helping reduce deaths has been an emphasis on having emergency gear, such as life rafts, on the boats.

Fatality rates dropped by 51 percent between 1990 and 2006 in Alaska commercial fishing, Lincoln said.

In raw numbers, 33 people died in commercial fishing in Alaska in 1990. By 2007, preliminary numbers show deaths had decreased to 11 people.

Lincoln said that between 2000 and 2006, 58 deaths were reported for the three West Coast states. Most happened when ships sank or capsized. Falls overboard were the second-leading cause. Other factors leading to deaths included drug and alcohol abuse.

Weather, including large waves, and vessels hitting sand bars were the leading contributor to ships sinking or capsizing. In Washington and Oregon, many of the ships fishing in the Pacific anchor in ports near treacherous waters at the mouth of the Columbia River, where sand bars lie below the surface.

Lincoln stressed that none of the 43 people who died after their boats sank were able to reach a life raft, and in 12 deaths, no life raft was aboard the vessel.