Global production of seafood continues to rise, along with concern for the health and safety of workers in commercial fishing and the related industries of aquaculture and seafood processing. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that approximately 80 commercial fishing workers lose their lives each day.
Seafood accounts for 15 percent of the world population’s animal protein intake. China, Indonesia, India, Peru, Russia and the United States are the largest seafood producers by volume, according to the latest data. The top aquaculture producers were China, Indonesia, India, Viet Nam and Bangladesh. In 2022, world aquaculture production surpassed capture fisheries for the first time in history.
Reducing occupational safety and health risk in aquatic food production was the focus of the Sixth International Fishing Industry Safety and Health (IFISH) Conference, which generated 27 articles published in a recent issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Agromedicine. The special issue highlights topics discussed during the conference, the only international gathering of fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing safety experts and researchers. Nearly 170 occupational safety and health researchers, safety professionals, industry members, and students from 31 countries gathered in January 2024 in Rome.
“The opportunity to curate this special issue for the Journal of Agromedicine, featuring the impactful work from IFISH6, has reinforced the critical importance of research in protecting the lives and well-being of those in the fishing, seafood processing and aquaculture sectors,” said Senior Guest Editor Jennifer Lincoln, Ph.D., Injury Epidemiologist, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). “This collection represents a significant step forward in our collective understanding and commitment to creating safer work environments for these workers.”
The IFISH Conference first occurred in 2000, encouraging dialogue among researchers, industry and worker organizations, aimed at decreasing injury and illness in the seafood industry.
Few occupations are as old, or as hazardous, as commercial fishing.
“One consistent message from IFISH was clear: fishermen prioritize safety and are ready to embrace solutions that are both practical and relevant,” Lincoln said. “Often, it takes someone willing to bridge connections between groups to truly identify these workable solutions.”
The Journal of Agromedicine is the world’s top source of peer-reviewed agricultural safety and health research. It is edited by the National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, and published by Taylor and Francis Group. The journal’s website provides searchable, archived abstracts from this (Volume 30, Issue 2) and all issues.
IFISH is advised and organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Comments