In episode 17, we hear about survival at sea, and creating a culture of safety on fishing vessels to prevent fishermen from ending up in the water. We hear about life jacket use (or lack thereof), a story of survival from a lobsterman who fell overboard, and about a special project to get more fishermen wearing personal flotation devices. 

The Fishing Forward is a podcast inspired by fishermen, for fishermen, featuring discussions from scientific experts and fishermen on health, safety, and staying shipshape in the commercial fishing industry. Fishing Forward funded and produced by the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety, and by the Coastal Routes Radio team at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Fishing Forward is hosted by Dr. Hannah Harrison (@fishpeopleplace) at Dalhousie University and Dr. Philip Loring (@ConserveChange)at the University of Guelph.

Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety (necenter.org/)
Coastal Routes Project (www.coastalroutes.org)

In this episode we heard from:
Dr. Julie Sorensen, Director of the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety (https://necenter.org/)
Father Sinclair Oubre, Director of the Apostleship of the Sea and Pastor at St. Franicis of Assisi Catholic Church
John Aldridge, lobster fishermen and co-author of A Speck in the Sea: A Story of Survival and Rescue.

Find John's book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33160596-a-speck-in-the-sea

Lifejackets save lives, but there are other ways to prevent a fatality due to falls overboard—reducing fall hazards, man-overboard alarms, recovery devices, training crew on resuscitation and treatment.  You can find more details about those measures here at the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6716a2.htm

In John's interview, he mentions using a Kent lifejacket. This life jacket is specially designed for commercial fishermen. You can read more about it here: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2015-119/default.html

For more about personal flotation devices, look here: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/fishing/pfds.html

Episode 17 - Safety Culture and Survival at Sea

In our latest podcast episode, we invite the Fishing Forward podcast team to share important research that can help improve the safety and health for commercial fishermen and their families. The Fishing Forward team brings stories of fishermen to the community.

Fishing Forward is a podcast inspired by fishermen, for fishermen. Fishing Forward focuses on the well-being of the commercial fishing industry and is funded by the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety and produced by the team at Coastal Routes Radio at the University of Guelph.

Resources from this episode:

Listen to the Fishing Forward podcast here: https://coastalroutes.org/fishingforwardpod
Topics include: Safety Culture and Survival at Sea, Crew, Aging Fleets and Infrastructures, Health in Fishing Communities, Trauma and PTSD, Sleep, Cooking and Relationships, Hydration, Diet and Nutrition, and more!

Learn more about the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety: https://necenter.org/fishing

Visit the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association's website: https://www.mainecoastfishermen.org

---
What's Work Got to Do With Fishing Forward?
Guests: Julie Sorensen, Hannah Harrison, Monique Coombs and Rebecca Weil
Hosted and Edited by: Helen Schuckers
Produced by: Helen Schuckers and Anjali Rameshbabu
Music by: Sam Greenspan

Julie Sorensen is the Director of the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing. Dr. Sorensen was responsible for funding the podcast and assisted with identifying content experts for a number of episodes, as well as reviewing and providing feedback on content.
 
Rebecca Weil is the commercial fishing research coordinator at the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety. Along with Maryellen Driscoll, Weil co-led the meetings and outreach for the Fishing Forward team, assisting with identifying topics, fishermen and researchers for episodes.

Monique Coombs is the Director of Community Programs at the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association. Monique's programs include topics like Working Waterfront and Fishermen Wellness. She is also part of a commercial fishing family.

Hannah Harrison is a human ecologist and assistant professor of marine affairs at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is one of the hosts for the Fishing Forward podcast. She is interested in the human dimensions of small-scale fisheries and fisheries conservation. You can connect with her on most social media platforms @ fishpeopleplace

---

Connect with us Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences and Oregon Healthy Workforce Center on social media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OHSUOccHealth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/occhealthsci.ohsu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/occhealthsci/
Blog: https://blogs.ohsu.edu/occupational-health-sciences/

Community feedback is important to us. If you love our podcast and want to further support our podcast, please consider leaving us a 5-star review. Thank you!

What's Work Got To Do With It?

Fishing Forward

Introducing Fishing Forward: a podcast inspired by fishermen, for fishermen, that focuses on health, safety, and staying shipshape in the commercial fishing industry. Fishing Forward is funded by The Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety, and produced by the team at Coastal Routes Radio at the University of Guelph.

Episode 17 - Safety Culture and Survival at Sea

Fishing Forward Podcast

Related tracks