Maritime Industries: Commercial Fishing

Commercial Fishing

Commercial fishermen harvesting Chum Salmon in Alaska. Photo: NIOSH

Commercial fishing involves the harvest of fish and other seafood from their natural habitats. These industries are dependent on a continued supply of the natural resource and require the use of specialized vessels. In 2017, over 9.9 billion pounds of seafood was harvested in the United States earning over $5.4 billion. Species that contributed the most to this revenue include Pacific salmon, crab, lobster, shrimp, and scallop.¹ There are approximately 39,000 commercial fishermen in the United States² using a variety of fishing gear and vessels to harvest the catch.

Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. During 2000–2017, commercial fishermen experienced a fatality rate of 114 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, compared with an average of 4 deaths per 100,000 FTE workers among all U.S. workers.³ Many commercial fishing operations are characterized by hazardous working conditions, strenuous labor, long work hours, and harsh weather. Common hazards include vessel disasters, falls overboard, and a variety of gear and equipment onboard.

NIOSH maintains the Commercial Fishing Incident Database (CFID), a surveillance system for workplace fatalities in the commercial fishing industry in the United States. A review of the data from 2000–2017 found that 791 commercial fishermen died while fishing in the United States. Nearly half of these fatalities (381, 48%) occurred after a vessel disaster, 30% (237) occurred when a fisherman fell overboard, and 13% (102) resulted from an injury sustained onboard. The remaining 71 (9%) fatalities occurred either while diving or from onshore injuries. For more information on this industry, visit the NIOSH Commercial Fishing Safety Topic Page.