Tuesday, January 9, 10:00 – 11:25, Lebanon Room

Moderated by Lissandra Cavalli, with presentations by:

Despite some successes in reducing work-related injuries and fatalities within the commercial fishing industry, commercial fishing remains one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. Targeted research and training that address best practices to reduce occupational safety risk in the commercial fishing industry are critical. To this end, the Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Research and Training Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was created to advance fishing safety research and provide targeted, regionally appropriate training for the commercial fishing industry.

This program is a partnership between the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and NIOSH. The Program provides funding opportunities to qualified individuals in academia, members of non-profit organizations, municipalities, and businesses involved in the United States commercial fishing industry. The funding supports research and training to help improve the safety and health of commercial fishermen. Awards can range from $150 – $975 thousand per project period.

Since the inception of the Commercial Fishing Research and Training Program in 2018, approximately $12 million in research and $11 million in training grants have been awarded to support 17 research and 15 training projects, respectively. Research and training applications from different regions of the U.S. and on various commercial fishing topics have been received and awarded. Notable highlights from the research and training projects will be presented.

The objectives of this presentation are to:

1. Provide an overview of the NIOSH-USCG Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Research and Training Program.
2. Highlight preliminary findings from research and training project grants.
3. Provide information on the application process and Frequently Asked Questions.

This presentation will provide the audience with information on available opportunities to help improve efforts to reduce injuries and fatalities in the commercial fishing industry.

Background: Incubators provide support to start-ups and individuals with important innovations who may lack the skills or resources required to move those innovations into practice. In August 2023, the Northeast Center launched a research-to-practice (r2p) incubator to help AFF professionals, practitioners, and researchers move their health and safety solution from great idea to widespread adoption by AFF industries. A key goal is to create and test an r2p blueprint to guide AFF health and safety innovators in scaling up their work.

Methods: As a first step to developing the r2p blueprint, staff are conducting a dual-arm literature review, scheduled for completion in September 2023. The first arm involves a scoping review of peer-reviewed literature related to the scale-up or implementation of AFF innovations. The second arm involves web scraping to identify existing incubators that feature AFF health and safety innovations. The results of these two searches will be combined to develop an initial blueprint that will be trialed in the next four years. The Northeast Center has assembled an advisory board of experts in manufacturing, entrepreneurship, user-centered design, marketing, engineering, standards, patent law, venture capital investment, and other fields related to successful navigation of the research-to-practice phase. The advisory board provides input on the incubator development, assists in the selection of two projects over the next four years, and provides mentorship to the two projects. In addition to expert advice, each project will receive two years of funding and referrals to additional resources. In this presentation, we will discuss the potential impacts of the Incubator on commercial fisheries operations.

Results: The components and results of the r2p incubator—literature review, initial blueprint, the advisory board, and the competitive selection process for the first project—will be presented.

An accident in Gladak Beach, Tulungagung involving two fishing boats causing them to be overturned by the waves and hit the reef. This accident resulted in four fishermen missing and four others managed to survive. As a nation boasting 636 seaports and 446 river and lake ports, Indonesia continues to experience a considerable number of maritime accidents. The primary issue persists because of inadequate oversight in ensuring compliance with safety regulations for boats. According to the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), inadequate supervision continues to be the primary contributing cause to marine accidents. Consequently, the incidence of marine accidents remains substantial, resulting in fatalities and inflicting bodily harm upon many individuals. 

Our preliminary finding shows that Indonesia has shifted its focus on disaster preparedness from government-centered to public-private partnerships. This can be seen from the fundamental principles and Article 28 of Law Number 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management that allow private actors to play part in disaster management. This shift of approach enables private entities and communities to become active participants rather than passive recipients of information or instruction. 

This essay proposes that the implementation of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a proactive, collaborative, and multifaceted strategy that engages many stakeholders, particularly corporate companies and regional government authorities, can serve as one of the ways to tackle the systemic problems causing maritime disasters. Through a collaborative effort, the regional government of Tulungagung and the private sector may use their respective knowledge, resources, and expertise to develop comprehensive projects aimed at enhancing maritime safety and preparedness

Community Health Workers are essential to improving the health outcomes of fishing communities by addressing social determinants of health and connecting families with programs and services. Fishing Partnership Support Services has built a team of certified CHWs called “Navigators” with the unique understanding of the experience, language, and culture of the fishing population. Through this presentation, we will share the effectiveness of our Navigator program, including the professional core competencies of our CHW’s, training through a lens of cultural competency, the health impacts of our programs, and the ways Navigators develop new services to address emerging needs.

The FPSS program can serve as a model for other fishing communities and public health programs that are looking to serve fishing families.