Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies conducts and promotes collaborative research to identify practical solutions that reduce the unique hazards within the maritime industries, including shipyards, marine terminals, marine transportation, commercial fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing.
- Conduct research to identify and reduce hazards and risk factors for illnesses, injuries, fatalities, and vessel disasters (e.g., flooding, fire, collision).
- Design and evaluate interventions to reduce risk factors and hazards.
- Build partnerships with industry, labor, trade associations, and other organizations to conduct research and to promote practical and relevant solutions.
- Coordinate maritime safety and health research among intramural and extramural scientists.
- Published and presented on the following:
- Administered nine grant awards as part of the Fishing Safety Research and Training Grant Program to support critical research and training projects to improve the occupational safety of workers in the high-risk commercial fishing industry.
- Released two “Fishing Safety Success Story” videos to advocate for the necessity of personal flotation devices when working on or near the ocean.
- Published a special issue of the Journal of Agromedicine, sharing key findings and research presented at IFISH 5, the only international conference dedicated to fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing worker health and safety.
- Completed a redesign and upgrade of the Commercial Fishing Incident Database (CFID) to better track fatal and non-fatal injuries in the commercial fishing industry.
- Developed a session on the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Industry sector for NIOSH’s 2019 Working Hours, Sleep, and Fatigue Forum.
- Administer an additional $6 million in new grants for the NIOSH/US Coast Guard Commercial Fishing Safety Research and Training Grant Program.
- Conduct field work and interviews on barriers to adoption of safety technologies in commercial fishing.
- Initiate research on inhalational exposures associated with shipyard processes such a welding, abrasive blasting, and coatings removal.
- Publish literature review on working hours, sleep, and fatigue in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Industry Sector.
- Develop communications products centered on recent seafood processing study findings.
- Publish analysis of fishing vessel disasters in Alaska.
Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The NIOSH Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies promotes safety and health for all maritime workers, including those employed on vessels, at waterfront facilities, and on shore directly supporting marine operations. This snapshot shows recent accomplishments and upcoming activities.
Source: NIOSH Commercial Fishing Incident Database (CFID). (2018)
Source: Worker counts are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics six-year average of workers, 2011–2017. Commercial fishing counts are from the Current Population Survey, commercial diving counts are from Occupational Employment and Wages tables, and all others are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
To learn more, visit
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/cmshs
November 2020