Saving Seafood

CHRIS WOODLEY: Consequences: Let’s not go overboard

November 11, 2020 — Every month, more than one fisherman dies from the most preventable accident in the industry. Accounting for 30 percent of industry fatalities, falls overboard occupy the strange position of being both the easiest risk to solve while simultaneously being one of the most persistently stubborn causes of death. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 220 commercial fishermen died after falling overboard from 2000 to 2016.

That may not seem like a huge number — just under 14 fatalities a year. But most of those fishermen lost at sea could have come home safely had their captains implemented an inexpensive and simple change in behavior. If all of us in the industry make this small shift in our responsibilities when we step onboard, we can ensure that more of our crew comes home safe. So let’s start a conversation about falls overboard.

Not surprisingly, FOB fatalities are highest in cold-water fisheries occurring off Alaska and the Northeast. However, even in the warm Gulf of Mexico waters, they account for 27 percent of industry fatalities.

The issue isn’t a lack of gear — manufacturers have done a remarkable job developing a huge variety of PFDs that are lightweight, comfortable, and are designed with the rigors of commercial fishing in mind. Similarly, there is a wide range of commercially available gadgets to recover people from the water — including deployable devices, such as life slings and life rings; and fixed devices, like recovery ladders that attach to the rail or hull of a vessel.

Read the full opinion piece at National Fisherman

FDA and OSHA publish COVID-19 food safety checklist, with additional information for seafood processors

September 2, 2020 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), has released a food safety checklist for human and animal food operations to heed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The checklist is meant to be used as an assessment tool as pandemic conditions persist, and can be especially pertinent for operations re-starting after a recent shutdown.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Sen. Chuck Schumer Expresses Concern Over At-Sea Monitoring Redeployment, Says Health & Safety Must Come First

August 19, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY):

Dear Secretary Ross:

I write today to convey concerns regarding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) July 30, 2020 decision to resume the Northeast Fisheries Observers Program (NEFOP) and the At-Sea Monitoring Program (ASM) for the Northeast multispecies fishery amidst the ongoing global pandemic caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the health risks attributed to COVID-19. While these observer programs play a critical role in collecting the data that guides our fisheries management decisions, the health and safety of our fishermen, their families, and the observers must always come first. That’s why I was pleased when NOAA issued a March 24th, 2020 emergency action waiving observer coverage requirements established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and subsequent waivers to the program through August 14th. NOAA’s initial decision in March and its subsequent waivers were necessary to protect the health of commercial fishermen across the country, while allowing them to continue to do their job as essential food harvesters and producers. While I appreciate the initial steps NOAA has taken to protect our fishing community, the decision to redeploy observers has raised questions about whether observers can be deployed without putting the fishing community, and the observers, at risk. Before the agency moves forward, I request NOAA immediately report to me how NOAA plans to guarantee that federal health guidelines are maintained during the redeployment of observers to ensure the safety of captains, crews and observers.

In response to the pandemic, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) developed guidance to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has also developed guidance on preparing workplaces for COVID-19. Guidance from both agencies include recommendations for daily health checks, face coverings, social distancing practices, improved ventilation, and isolation of employees who show COVID-like symptoms.

While some of these safety measures can be easily implemented on a small vessel, others such as isolating individuals with COVID-like symptoms will be challenging if not impossible on a small vessel. I have heard from a number of New York’s commercial fishermen who do not believe their vessels are large enough to maintain an appropriate level of social distancing from observers based on federal health guidelines. How does NOAA plan to ensure observers, fishermen, and providers are complying with OSHA and CDC recommendations so that the redeployment of observers will not pose a safety risk to the observer and fishing communities?

Read the full letter here

NFI Statement on Guidance from CDC and OSHA about Protecting Seafood Processing Workers

June 25, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The National Fisheries Institute is pleased to see federal regulators working together to create important guidance to protect workers at seafood facilities and provide guidance for employers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognize seafood is an important part of the U.S. economy and fish production facilities are essential to the Nation’s critical infrastructure. With the Food and Drug Administration, CDC and OSHA have released guidance designed to help keep seafood workers and food safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guidance supplements general guidance already issued by the public health and worker safety agencies.

The seafood industry specific guidance reiterates that seafood-processing workers are not exposed to the disease through the fish and seafood products they handle. It provides useful tools to minimize hazards for workers who come in relatively close contact with each other and may raise exposure risk factors.

The guidance reviews screening, quarantining and testing of both onshore and offshore employees and is in keeping with the best practices recognized by the industry for COVID-prevention controls.

Labor unions refile lawsuit calling on federal workplace safety guidelines for COVID-19

June 23, 2020 — The AFL-CIO on Thursday, 18 June sought a rehearing before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in District of Columbia as it seeks to force the federal government to develop emergency workplace safety standards regarding the novel coronavirus.

The resubmission happened one week after a three-judge panel in the district denied the federation of labor unions request after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opted not to issue emergency standards. The judges said in their order that the workplace safety regulatory body “reasonably determined” such standards weren’t needed right now.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Liability Shield Is Next Coronavirus Aid Battle

May 4, 2020 — Senate Republicans’ efforts to shield companies from liability during the coronavirus pandemic sets the stage for a showdown with Democrats, as allies of businesses and labor fight over the terms under which the economy will emerge from its partial shutdown.

Senate lawmakers return to Washington this week to start working out the next round of relief for households and businesses, on top of almost $3 trillion approved so far. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who will control the shape of much of the next stimulus package, has called liability protections a must-have “red line” for Republicans, saying he won’t support Democrats’ call for further state and local aid without it.

U.S. busi­nesses fear a wave of lit­i­ga­tion as work­ers in meat-pro­cess­ing fa­cil­i­ties, gro­cery stores and other lo­ca­tions get sick or die from the Covid-19 ill­ness caused by the new coro­n­avirus. The U.S. Cham­ber of Com­merce warns that the risk of class-ac­tion claims and other suits could de­ter busi­nesses from re­open­ing their doors, even if they are act­ing in good faith to op­er­ate safely. The trade group has en­dorsed the idea of shield­ing com­pa­nies that fol­low fed­eral and state health-au­thor­ity guide­lines for curb­ing the spread of Covid-19.

Com­pa­nies have been em­pha­siz-ing the steps they are tak­ing to pro­tect work­ers, from dis­in­fect­ing fa­cil­i­ties and set­ting up plex­i­glass di­viders to op­er­at­ing on stag­gered shifts to al­low for more so­cial dis­tanc­ing. Re­tail busi­nesses such as gro­cery stores have rolled out re­quire­ments meant to pro­tect cus­tomers and staff, in­clud­ing re­quir­ing masks and lim­it­ing ca­pac­ity.

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal

Sea Watch worker dies after accident at New Bedford plant

January 22, 2019 — A 63-year-old worker at Sea Watch International’s New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A. seafood processing plant died on 6 January after suffering a workplace injury on 2 January.

William Couto, of Acushnet, Massachusetts, was injured when his clothing became entangled in a running motor, according to the nonprofit Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH).

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation the day of the accident. The inspection is ongoing, an OSHA spokesperson told South Coast Today.

Read the full story at Seafood Source