Community-Based Safety Training for the Mid-Atlantic Fishing Industry

Fishing Partnership Support Services ? Safety Training in the Mid-Atlantic ? Project Abstract Fishing Partnership Support Services (FPSS) will use a community-based model to implement safetytraining programs that are practical; meet multiple health and safety needs; and reduce the risk of injuries andfatalities within the commercial fishing industry. From 2005-2014, the three most dangerous fisheries in theU.S. were on the East Coast. Despite the dangers of their profession, most fishermen on the East Coast havenot received the safety training needed to reduce their risk of injury, illness, and death due to lack of trainingopportunities; lack of access for isolated fishing communities; lack of safety training instructors; financialconstraints; lack of awareness of danger; and cultural reluctance to change. FPSS?s program will exert asustained, powerful influence on the field of occupational safety training by increasing both the supply anddemand for safety training in the Mid-Atlantic; increasing capacity to deliver training throughout the commercialfishing industry; and bringing innovation and evaluation to every level of the training. FPSS will utilize NIOSH grant funds to fulfill the following objectives: Objective #1: Enhance the qualityand availability of safety training that addresses the needs of fishermen, by offering significantly more trainingsessions than in previous years. Safety training courses will include Safety and Survival Training, DrillConductor Training, CPR/First Aid Training, and Vessel Stability Training. Newly developed trainingcomponents will include Opioid Use Disorder Awareness, Naloxone and Ergonomics. FPSS will offer 44training sessions over two years, enrolling 665 trainees from the six coastal Mid-Atlantic states. Objective #2:Increase training capacity by offering AMSEA?s Marine Safety Instructor Training (MSIT) locally and certifyingup to 18 new safety training instructors. Objective #3: Create a demand for training from within the communityby promoting a culture of safety. This will result in more fishing communities recognizing safety as a toppriority. FPSS will partner with apprentice programs that develop to provide safety training to young fishermen. To evaluate the quality, effectiveness, and impact of the proposed safety training, FPSS will engageinternal and external evaluators in a multi-method approach that includes quantitative and qualitative datacollection, and the use of secondary data sources. Outcomes include: 1: Participants engage in saferbehaviors/practices in their work; 2. Participants maintain a positive attitude toward safety; 3. A culture ofhealth and safety is created; 4. The numbers of accidents, injuries and fatalities are reduced; and 5. USCG?ssearch and rescues costs decline. For Research to Practice (r2p) FPSS? evaluation team will engage multiplestakeholders to identify research needs and questions; design evaluation tools and conduct studies; andtranslate and share knowledge, interventions, and evaluation learnings with five key audiences: fishing leaders;other safety training programs, including NIOSH funded programs; law enforcement, including the U.S. CoastGuard; state and federal policy makers; and fishing safety researchers.