Utilizing United States Coast Guard Data to Calculate Incidence Rates and Identify Risk Factors for Occupational Fishing Injuries in New Jersey

ABSTRACT Commercial fishing has high rates of work-related injury and death and needs preventive strategies. Work-related fatal and nonfatal injury rates for New Jersey (NJ) commercial fishermen who suffered unintentional traumatic injuries from 2001 to 2007 are calculated using data from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety and Pollution Database and estimated denominator data. Fatalities were compared to those ascertained by the NJ Fatality Assessment Control and Evaluation (FACE) surveillance system. For the study years, 225 nonfatal injuries and 31 fatal injuries were reported. Among nonfatal injuries, the causes by frequency were fall onto surface, crushed between objects, struck by moving object, line handling/caught in lines, collision with fixed objects, fall into water, and other noncontact injuries. The distribution of fatal injuries differed, with the most frequent cause as crushed between objects. Falls into water and several noncontact injuries accounted for most of the other fa...