This document summarizes an assessment of musculoskeletal disorders on large fishing vessels in New Zealand. It finds that the risk of injury is highest on vessels over 24 meters due to more time spent at sea, more crew members, and more physically demanding tasks. The assessment identified manual handling and slips/trips/falls as the most common causes of injury. It observed many physically demanding tasks performed in difficult conditions and proposed that interventions focusing on ergonomic improvements, training, fitness and hydration could help reduce injuries in the fishing industry.

1. Fishing for information: Scoping
for opportunities to prevent
musculoskeletal disorders on
NZ’s large fishing vessels
Marion Edwin, Optimise Ltd
Darren Guard, Sealord

2. In the beginning... 2012
• MBIE/ACC – fishing one of 5 priority sectors
needing to improve H and S performance/reduce
work toll
• Target for 25% minimum reduction in workplace
serious harm and fatalities by 2020 (10% by 2016)
-Fishing Sector Action Plan (MNZ, FishSafe, ACC,
DoL April 2012) and ‘The State of Workplace
Health in NZ’ (MBIE Sept 2012)
• Sealord recognised that ergonomics has
relevance, approached Optimise

3. Industry data
• 2012 MNZ data, marine fishing/aquaculture
highest injury rate all sectors (2001-09)
• Fishing work-related injury rate 7.29%, mining
and quarrying 4.47%, construction 3.29%
• MBIE 2012, previous 10 years fishing with
highest ACC entitlement claim rate per sector,
only less than forestry in 2008
• Statistics NZ 2013, 1 in 4 fishery workers made
work-related claim, equal with agriculture,
highest rate by occupation
• Similar international trends, ? Under-reporting

4. Starting points
• Key work by ACC – ‘Study of personal damage in NZ
Maritime Industry’ Kahler and Chau (2012)
• Taxonomy identified cause of incidences in >24 m
vessels:
– 37% manual handling type (human energy)
– 21% slips, trips, falls type (gravitational energy)
• FishSafe targeted <24 m vessels as most fatal accidents
• But >24 m vessels greatest risk for injuries

5. From MNZ reported incidents
Vessel
Length
Number and % of
Serious Harm
Number and % of
Vessel Population
Total quarterly
operating hours
Rate of serious
harm per 1,000
vessel operating
hours
Total
Crewing
Numbers
Rate of
serious harm
per 1,000
crew
Under
6m
0
0%
251
23%
20,331 0 437 0
6-12m
11
6%
356
33%
60,164 0.18 652 16.8
12-24m
51
27%
405
37%
197,640 0.26 1300 39.2
24m+
129
68%
79
7%
103,569 1.24 1991 64.8
Total
191
100%
1091
100%
381,704 0.5 4380 43.4
Serious Harm 2000-2008 (from D Guard, Sealord)
So The larger the vessel, the more serious harm
And Fewest number of vessels, and the most crew
Equals Focus here to reduce injury

6. Plan...
• To have the greatest impact on the fishing
industry work toll, efforts must focus on manual
handling tasks and interventions for crews on 24+
metre vessels
• ACC-funded ‘ergonomics scoping assessment’
May-Sept 2013, liaison AUT
• Including initial literature review, on vessel
experience
• Link with new Fishing Safety Forum – 3 key
employers

7. Vessels and trips
Total on-vessel time - 12 days.
• Sealord, FV Otakou (fresher), 8-10 June 2013. Out
from Nelson into Cook Strait, return to Picton. *

8. • Sanford, FV Ikawai (fresher), 30-31 July 2013
(16 hour turn around). Out from Picton into
Cook Strait, return to Picton.

9. • Sealord, FV Ocean Dawn (factory), Friday 9 –
Sunday 18 August 2013. Out from Nelson to
West Coast, return to Westport.

10. Waves...
• Sometimes gentle, rhythmic, but often unexpected
• Seasickness
• Tiring, muscularly fatiguing
• Relentless, frustrating
• Impact on everything – sleep, moving about the vessel,
brushing teeth, showering...
• For some, a real endorphin rush
• Question: What do we know of how wave motion
impacts on manual handling risks and therefore injury
risks?

11. Behavioural observations
• Personal space diminishes – small spaces, shared
rooms, close living/working quarters
• Frequent bumping into people due to wave action
• Requires a matching increase in tolerance for
others
• Questions: Are HR finding the right sort of
people for work on vessels? What skills/attributes
make for a ‘good’ worker on vessels?
(psychological/physical)

12. Shifts
• 6 hours on, 6 hours off, 7 days, 6 weeks
• 12 hours on, 6 hours off, 7 days, 3 weeks
• Fatiguing in all ways
• Circadian rhythms?
• And there is little else to do on the vessel so you
may as well work...
• Questions: What does this do to manual
handling exposure and recovery time? And
what is really happening in regards to sleep?

13. Fresher vessel -
Otakou
• Nets out, fill ‘em up, nets in

14. Fisherman porn...

17. FV Ikawai (Sanford)

19. Vessel Tasks
• Repetitive
• Often in sustained/constrained/awkward postures
• Always in a moving environment
• With some exceptions, most do not involve much
cardiovascular activity
• Wet, slimy, dangerous spines
• Question: What do fishers and their employing
organisations know of manual handling risks and how
to manage them to prevent discomfort (and manage
discomfort/injury)?

20. Handling every fish!

21. 1 minute ‘ergonomic
breaks’, every hour !

24. Packing and QA
Ouchie!

25. Mazza
Dazza

26. Scats /plate freezers

27. Meal-man
(30 kg bags)

28. Handling/design
and access issues

29. Hydration
• Only 16% of crew adequately hydrated (1.003
-1.020 Usg)
• 63% dehydrated (1.020-1.030 Usg)
• 20% very dehydrated (over 1.030 Usg)
‘You’re all farting dust!’

30. Training and fitness
• Little information about stretching, break
practises, no explicit training
• Little information about general fitness
• Outdated lifting and handling knowledge and
approach
• Room to build on ‘workplace athlete’ notion
• No on-vessel cardio opportunities

31. Logistics and cost benefits
• Vessels earn when catching fish, not when tied up
at the wharf
• In port 48 hours only - for full unload,
maintenance, restock, crew changeover, QA,
trainings etc – hectic
• Cost benefits of ergonomics interventions
investigated (H Gaskin, 2013)
• Convincing arguments for potential savings in
crew selection, injury prevention, improved
productivity

32. He moana pukepuke e ekengia te waka.
A choppy sea can be navigated.
- Though the task of reducing injuries in fishing
may seem difficult, it can be done.
Many physical design,
organisational design and training
opportunities identified...

33. Online in
June!