February 14, 2023 — For crews working on fishing boats in Alaska, danger lurks in a helpful and possibly innocent-looking device: the winch.
Winches are hauling devices on which cables are wound. On fishing boats, they are used to lift anchors, nets and other objects. The combination of speed, force and close quarters on deck can lead to accidents involving them.
Over a 20-year period, there were 125 serious injuries to Alaska fisheries from winches, including amputations and crushed bones, according to a newly published study by experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study is published in the Journal of Agromedicine.
The study tracked winch-related traumatic injuries from 2000 to 2020 that were reported to the Alaska Fishermen’s Fund, the state-administered entity that administers fishing-related injury and illness claims. Because the tally is limited to reports filed to the fund, it is almost certainly an undercount, and possibly a significant undercount, the study said.