Fishing Risks: By Gear Type
Trawl
Watch a VIDEO of this gear type in action.
Trawl
Check out the injury statistics
for Trawl
Check out the Trawl Safety Best Practices
Most common injuries (per WorkSafeBC worker claims 2015-2019)
Injury due to vessel and fishing gear movement, often in rough weather result in falls and impact from gear leading to broken bones, lacerations, and other serious strains leading to immobility.
Example: Vessel hits a wave - worker lost his balance and hit the wall with his shoulder and then fell about 15 steps to the bottom of the staircase.
Example: Worker was climbing the ladder out of the boat’s freezer when a wave hit the vessel. The worker was knoced off the ladder and fell 7 to 10 feet resulting in a serious back injury.
Solution: Working in rough weather is inevitable. To prevent slips, trips, and falls, passageways should be kept clear of obstruction and substances/seafood should be cleaned up as frequently as possible. Proper drainage should be maintained, with appropriate gratings, mats, or raised platforms provided, and surfaces designed to increase adhesion.
Check out WorkSafeBC’s handbook ‘Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls in the Workplace’
On freezer trawlers, injury due to being struck by frozen blocks or bags of fish is a frequent occurrence leading to serious hand and head injuries. Fish spine punctures occur frequently when processing fish.
Example: Worker’s ankle was struck by a bag of frozen fish (approx. 50 lbs) that fell off a pallet.
Example: Worker grabbed a rockfish when a spike on the rockfish punctured left forearm
Solution: To the extent possible, engineering solutions should be developed to secure objects and equipment from falling or shifting suddenly. Consider fish processing designs that help prevent injury due to loading/offloading fish product. Wearing puncture-resistant gloves can provide necessary mobility while preventing knife cuts and fish spine injuries.
Injury due to overexertion and repetitive motion, often related to moving blocks, boxes, pans, and buckets of fish product.
Example: Worker repetitively bent and twisted to lift 22 lb pans of frozen fish from a conveyor belt to fill freezers that hold 130 pans of frozen fish, leading to immobility due to serious back strain.
Solution: Adjust workstations and standing work surfaces to fit the worker height and the angle of the tasks being performed. Arrange work stations so that any lifting is done in front of workers without twisting. Allow workers to rest fatigued muscles as well as breaks in warmer areas of the vessel. To the extent possible, design job rotation schedules between different tasks.