In response to a continuing high loss of commercial fishing vessels and crews, the U.S. Congress has mandated development of new safety requirements for the industry. This volume provides a blueprint for an integrated national safety program that responds realistically to industry conditions, with priority on the most cost-effective alternatives. Fishing Vessel Safety addresses the role of the U.S. Coast Guard and the fishing industry and evaluates such safety measures as vessel inspection and registration, and the training and licensing of fishermen. It explores vessel condition, the role of human behavior, the problem of weather prediction, the high cost of insurance, and more.
- FISHING VESSEL SAFETY
- Copyright
- Preface
- BACKGROUND
- COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
- SCOPE OF STUDY
- STUDY METHOD
- REPORT ORGANIZATION
- Acknowledgments
- Contents
- Executive Summary
- WHAT ARE THE SAFETY PROBLEMS?
- CAN SAFETY BE IMPROVED?
- 1 The Need for New Approaches to Fishing Vessel Safety
- COMMERCIAL FISHING ACCIDENTS
- Vessels and Lives Lost
- Personal Injuries
- Defining the Population at Risk and Determining Who Is Responsible
- PRIOR SAFETY IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS
- Federal Safety Programs
- Federal Regulation and Compliance
- Industry Safety Programs
- International and Foreign Government Safety Activities
- SAFETY AS A TOTAL CONCEPT
- Establishing a Direction
- Safety Program Infrastructure
- Monitoring and Evaluating Safety Performance
- SUMMARY
- 2 Commercial Fishing: An Industry Overview
- FISHING INDUSTRY VESSELS AND FISHERMEN
- The Vessels
- Commercial Fishermen
- Culture and Social Organization
- Fishermen as Participants in the Labor Market
- The Working Conditions
- U.S. LAWS AFFECTING COMMERCIAL FISHING
- Fisheries Management
- Legal Liability
- REGIONAL FISHERIES
- North Atlantic Region
- South Atlantic Region
- The Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Region
- Great Lakes and Inland Fisheries
- West Coast Region
- Distant-Water Fleet
- Alaska Region
- SUMMARY
- 3 The Commercial Fishing Safety Record
- DATA FOR ASSESSING FISHING INDUSTRY VESSEL SAFETY
- Fishing Fleet and Work Force Data
- Casualty Data
- VESSEL CASUALTIES
- Nature of Vessel Casualties
- Regional Distribution of Vessel Casualties
- Casualty Distribution by Vessel Length
- Casualty Distribution by Vessel Type and Usage
- Causes of Vessel Casualties
- Search and Rescue Data
- Vessel Casualty Rates
- Distribution of Search and Rescue Cases
- Differences in Vessel Casualty Rates
- FATALITIES
- Fatality Rates
- Proportional Mortality Rates
- Relationship of Fatalities to Survival Equipment
- PERSONAL INJURIES
- HUMAN FACTORS DATA
- STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING SAFETY DATA
- Improving Safety Data
- Alternative 1: Establish a Comprehensive Statistical Data Collection, Analysis, and Utilization Program
- Alternative 2: Require Vessel Registration
- Alternative 3: Require Professional Registration
- SUMMARY
- 4 The Fishing Vessels
- THE VESSEL AS AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM
- Vessel Characteristics as a Safety Issue
- NATURE AND CAUSES OF FISHING VESSEL SAFETY PROBLEMS
- Vessel Casualties
- Flooding and Foundering (Sinking)
- Capsizings
- Fires and Explosions
- Groundings
- Collisions (Including Allisions)
- Material Failures
- Workplace-Related Casualties
- Technology as a Safety Issue
- Fishing Industry Perspectives on Vessel-Related Casualties
- DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND MAINTENANCE
- Features of a Seaworthy Fishing Vessel
- State of Practice
- Design, Construction, and Outfitting Issues
- Maintenance Issues
- Finding an Experienced Designer or Surveyor
- STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE VESSEL SAFETY
- Improving Vessel Fitness for Service
- Alternative 4: Establish Minimum Design, Structural, Stability, and Material Condition Standards
- Alternative 5: Expand Equipment Requirements
- Alternative 6: Improve Human Factors Engineering of Vessels, Deck Layouts, and Machinery
- Improving Vessel Safety Performance and Owner and Operator Accountability
- Alternative 7: Continue Compliance Examinations
- Alternative 8: Require Self-Inspection
- Alternative 9: Require Marine Surveys
- Alternative 10: Require Load Lines
- Alternative 11: Require Vessel Classification
- Alternative 12: Require Vessel Inspection
- Removing Vessels from Service
- Alternative 13: Remove Unsafe, Inefficient, or Excess Vessels from Service
- SUMMARY
- 5 The Fishermen
- HUMAN FACTORS AND VESSEL CASUALTIES
- Scope of Human Involvement
- Geographic Distribution of Personnel Errors
- HUMAN CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS
- Grounding
- Collisions
- Material Failures
- Falls Overboard/Disappearances
- Injuries in the Workplace
- LITERATURE AND RESEARCH
- General Human Factors Research
- INDUSTRY ISSUES
- Onboard Conditions
- U.S. Fishermen's Perspectives
- Canadian Fishing Vessel Safety Initiatives
- STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING HUMAN FACTORS
- General Strategies and Human Behavior
- Specific Strategies and Alternatives
- Building Safety Awareness
- Alternative 14: Establish Risk Communication/Safety Awareness Programs
- Alternative 15: Publish and Distribute Safety Publications
- Improving Professional Competency
- Alternative 16: Require Emergency Preparedness Measures
- Alternative 17: Develop and Promulgate Standard Operating Procedures
- Alternative 18: Develop Competency Standards
- Alternative 19: Promote Education and Training
- Alternative 20: Require Education and Training with Certification
- Alternative 21: Require Licensing
- Manning and Watchkeeping
- Alternative 22: Establish Vessel Manning and Watchkeeping Criteria
- SUMMARY
- 6 Safety and Survival
- DATA AVAILABILITY
- THE NEED FOR SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT
- Survival Situations
- Effects of Exposure
- EVIDENCE OF SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT INADEQUACIES
- The Fishermen's Response
- Proficiency with Survival Equipment
- Technical Issues
- Nonapproved Inflatable PFDs
- Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons
- The Impact of Changing Technology
- Gaps in Survival Equipment
- Protective Deckwear
- Survival Platforms
- STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING SURVIVAL PROBLEMS
- Alternative 23: Require Manufacturers to Provide Installation, Maintenance, and Use Instructions
- Alternative 24: Develop and Require Carriage of Fishing-Industry-Specific Survival Equipment
- Alternative 25: Prohibit Use of Survival Equipment That Is Not Coast Guard-Approved
- SUMMARY
- 7 External Influences on Safety
- FISHERIES MANAGEMENT INFLUENCES ON FISHING INDUSTRY SAFETY
- Alternative 26: Establish Flexible Season Openings
- Alternative 27: Establish a Voting Position for a Marine Safety Organization on Each Fishery Management Council
- Alternative 28: Expand Safety Emphasis in Fishery Management Plans
- INSURANCE
- Availability and Affordability of Insurance
- Loss-Prevention Leadership
- Unresolved Problems Affecting Underwriting
- Improving Communications
- Alternative 29: Mandate Compulsory Insurance
- MARINE WEATHER SERVICES
- Alternative 30: Expand Fishing-Industry-Specific Weather Services
- SUMMARY
- 8 Conclusions and Recommendations
- ESTABLISHING AN INTEGRATED SAFETY PROGRAM
- SAFETY LEADERSHIP
- References
- APPENDIXES
- APPENDIX A Committee Member Biographies
- APPENDIX B Papers Prepared for This Study
- APPENDIX C International Fishing Industry Safety Activities
- INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION
- CANADIAN VESSEL SAFETY RULES AND REGULATIONS
- EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNATIONAL AND FISHING NATION SAFETY MEASURES
- APPENDIX D Data Sources and Issues
- NATIONAL SAFETY DATA
- U.S. Coast Guard Data
- Main Casualty (CASMAIN) Data
- Search and Rescue (SAR) Data
- Summary Enforcement Event Report (SEER)
- Marine Safety Information System (MSIS)
- Recreational Boating Safety Data
- National Transportation Safety Board Data
- National Marine Fisheries Service Data
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration Data
- Marine Index Bureau Data
- The Commercial Fishing Claims Register (CFCR)
- Vital Statistics Data
- Plans for Development of New Data Sources
- REGIONAL SAFETY DATA
- Regional Assessments
- North Atlantic Region
- South Atlantic and Gulf/Caribbean Regions
- West Coast Region
- PACFIN Research Data Base
- Alaskan Region
- Hawaii/Southwest Pacific Region
- APPENDIX E Selected CASMAIN Vessel Casualty and Fatality Data
- APPENDIX F Coast Guard Compliance Examinations
- THE NATURE OF COMPLIANCE ACTIVITY
- OBJECTIVES OF COMPLIANCE EXAMINATIONS
- THE EXTENT AND RESULTS OF COMPLIANCE EXAMINATIONS
- COURTESY MARINE EXAMINATIONS
- CASE STUDY: SITKA SAC ROE HERRING FISHERY COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION PROGRAM
- SUMMARY
- APPENDIX G Inspection of Fishing Industry Vessels
- STATUTORY AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
- Vessel Registration
- Documentation
- State Numbers
- Tonnage Measurement
- Vessel Inspection
- Background
- General Inspection Requirements
- Fishing Industry Vessels Subject to Inspection
- Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act (CFIVSA) of 1988
- Occupational Safety and Health
- ADMINISTRATION OF VESSEL INSPECTION
- The Vessel Inspection Process
- Plan Review
- Inspection
- Certificate of Inspection (COI)
- Recertification and Reinspection
- Underwater Body Inspections
- Safety Requirements
- APPLYING VESSEL INSPECTION TO FISHING INDUSTRY VESSELS
- Effectiveness of Vessel Inspection in Improving Safety
- Criteria for Establishing Which Fishing Industry Vessels Should Be Inspected
- Safety Performance Records
- Regional Factors
- Personnel Complements
- Scope of Inspection
- IMPLEMENTATION
- Potential Inspection Organizations
- Marine Survey Organizations
- Classification Societies
- Insurance Organizations
- State Governments
- Industry Organizations or Associations
- Owners or Operators
- APPENDIX H Safety Considerations on a Longline Vessel
- APPENDIX I Survival and Emergency Equipment: Technical Analysis
- EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
- Coast Guard-Approved Equipment
- Use of Equipment Not Approved by the Coast Guard
- Equipment Costs
- EQUIPMENT AVAILABILITY
- Personal Flotation Devices
- Coast Guard-Approved Inflatable PFDs
- Infant- and Child-Sized Immersion Suits
- PFD Lights
- EPIRBs
- Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs)
- INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT
- Regulatory Requirements for Instructions
- Coast Guard Survival System Publications
- APPENDIX J Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988
- Index
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