April 10, 2023 — Commercial fishing in Alaska, long notorious as a dangerous and potentially deadly occupation, is getting safer, according to data presented this month to federal regulators.
Alaska fishing-related fatalities declined at a rate of 57% from 2013 to 2022, according to the presentation made Thursday to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is meeting in Anchorage.
Alaska, with 88 fishing fatalities from 2013 to 2022, accounted for slightly over a third of the nation’s fishing-related deaths during the period, according to the presentation, made by Samantha Case and Richie Evoy, epidemiologists with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.