Surprise! It turns out that salmon fishing is the most dangerous fishery in Alaska and crabbing in the Bering Sea is the safest.
That is just one of the findings of a new report by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, which tracked U.S. fishing deaths from 2000 through 2009. The report is the first ever to explore how hazards and risk factors differ among fisheries and locations.
Some findings: During 2000-2009, 504 commercial fishing deaths occurred in the United States The Alaska region had the highest number of deaths at 133 (26%), followed by the Northeast at 124 (25%), the Gulf of Mexico at 116 (23%), West Coast at 83 (16%), and the Mid- and South Atlantic (41, 8%). A total of 491 (97%) of those killed were male, with an average age of 41 years (range: 10-86 years).
Of the total number of deaths, 261 (52%) occurred after a vessel disaster, 155 occurred when a person fell overboard (31%), and 51 (10%) resulted from an injury onboard. The remaining 37 deaths occurred while diving or on shore. Among the 155 fishermen who died from falling overboard, none was wearing a personal flotation device (PFD).
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