KeepingworkerssafeintheemergingU.S.offshoreaquacultureindustry

Jillian Fry, PhD, MPHProject Director, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future

Assistant Scientist, Environmental Health & Engineering Department,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

June 11, 2018

@JFry27

Outline

• Introduction– Global Seafood Production

• Occupational Risks in Offshore Aquaculture• U.S. Aquaculture• Policy Analysis• Conclusions

FAO (2016) The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture.

FAO (2016) The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Marine

Marine

Inland

Inland

Occupational health and safety• Overall:– Food workers are vulnerable – Fisheries/aquaculture: hazardous, wet

working conditions• High variability based on: species, production

method, location, etc.• Marine aquaculture: combines agriculture,

fishing, and diving• Elevated rates of injuries and illnesses, similar

to agriculture workers

Occupational health and safety

• Exposure: veterinary drugs, agrochemicals, pathogens, and extreme temperatures

• Falls from boats and cages • Breathing dust from feed • Musculoskeletal injuries • Needle-stick injuries (vaccines)• Diving risks including decompression illness

and drowning

Sources: Myers 2010, Cole et al. 2009, Myers & Cole 2009

Occupational health and safety

• Study 20+ years ago identified risks in net pen salmon farming (Douglas 1995)

• Researchers have called for:– Increased oversight (Moreau and Neis 2009)

– Specific regulations for emerging industry (Watterson et al. 2008)

References

1. M. L. Myers, “Review of Occupational Hazards Associated With Aquaculture,” J. Agromedicine, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 412– 426, Oct. 2010.

2. D. W. Cole et al., “Aquaculture: Environmental, toxicological, and health issues,” Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Health, vol. 212, no. 4, pp. 369–377, Jul. 2009.

3. M. L. Myers and H. P. Cole, “Simple solutions for reduced fish farm hazards.,” J. Agromedicine, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 150–6, May 2009.

4. J. D. Douglas, “Salmon farming: occupational health in a new rural industry.,” Occup. Med. (Lond)., vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 89–92, Apr. 1995.

5. D. T. R. Moreau and B. Neis, “Occupational health and safety hazards in Atlantic Canadian aquaculture: Laying the groundwork for prevention,” Mar. Policy, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 401–411, Mar. 2009.

6. A. Watterson, D. Little, J. A. Young, K. Boyd, E. Azim, and F. Murray, “Towards integration of environmental and health impact assessments for wild capture fishing and farmed fish with particular reference to public health and occupational health dimensions,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 258–77, Dec. 2008.

U.S. Aquaculture• Effort at federal level to develop U.S. aquaculture since

1980• Desire to expand U.S. aquaculture to:

- Reduce trade deficit- Spur economic development- Meet U.S. food needs and contribute to “solution of

world resource problems” • Freshwater/onshore aquaculture: USDA• Marine aquaculture: NOAA– 2016-2020 Strategic plan: increase marine aquaculture

by 50%• ~6,500 aquaculture workers in U.S. (Dept. of Labor)

Aquaculture Production (2010)

Key U.S. Aquaculture Species:Marine: Atlantic salmon, oysters, mussels, clams, shrimpFreshwater: catfish, striped bass, tilapia, trout, crawfish

U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Policy Analysis

• Federal laws relevant to environmental and occupational public health risks

• 20 laws identified; 11 relevant to preventing, controlling, or monitoring public health risks

Key Findings• Many agencies potentially involved

Key Findings

• Occupational risks– Agricultural exemptions- under 11 employees– Jurisdictional issues• OSH Act preempted past the territorial sea–US Coast Guard- vessel safety–Bureau of Ocean Energy Management-

oil rigs & wind farms

Conclusions

• Variability in occupational risks depending on production methods, production stage, setting, geographic location

• Elevated rates of injury and illness compared to all workers

• More OSH research needed to inform development of evidence-based policies and programs

• OSH oversight in federal waters an urgent issue

For More Information:jfry3@jhu.edu

@JFry27