Editor’s note: The content of this blog originally appeared in a news release issued by NIOSH on Sept. 11, 2019.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the U.S. Coast Guard are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2019 Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Research Cooperative Agreement and Training Project Grant Program.

This year’s program made nine awards totaling $5.25 million to support critical research and training projects to improve the occupational safety of workers in the high-risk commercial fishing industry. Funding will support the following projects:

Research

• Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital (Cooperstown, NY), Assessments of Sleep Deprivation and Associated Health and Cognitive Impacts in Commercial Fishermen
• Mississippi State University, Trawler Fishermen’s Personal Floatation Devices: Wear Assessment and Prototype Development
• Oregon State University, Improving Vessel Equipment: Evaluating Fishermen-Led Safety Design Ideas in the Dungeness Crab Fleet
• University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, Improving Crew Overboard Recovery for Commercial Fishing Vessels in the Gulf of Mexico

Training

• Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, National Fishing Safety Training Infrastructure
• Fishing Partnership Health Plan (Burlington, MA), Community-Based Safety Training for the Mid-Atlantic Fishing Industry
• Fishing Partnership Health Plan (Burlington, MA), Community-Based Safety Training for the New England Fishing Industry
• Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, A Comprehensive Safety, Wellness, and Change Program for New Entrants and Existing Persons in the Commercial Fishing Industry in Downeast Maine
• Oregon State University, Building Capacity for Fishermen First Aid Safety Training (FFAST)

“The Coast Guard is pleased to see the high caliber of applicants that competed for the Fiscal Year 2019 Fishing Safety Training and Research Grant Programs,” said Joseph D. Myers, chief of the Coast Guard’s Fishing Vessel Safety Division. “The packages submitted this year reflected the diversity of the fishing industry nationwide and clearly outlined a vision to enhance safety within the fishing industry. This aligns with the Coast Guard’s mission to promote a safe environment for all commercial fishers, and we anticipate this and future Fishing Safety Grant Programs will deliver large benefit to our maritime community.”

Commercial fishing remains one of the most dangerous industries in the United States, and the need for targeted safety research and training remains essential. The 2019 grants mark the first time the Fishing Safety Research and Training Grants have been available. A second round of grant funding is planned for 2020.

“These research and training projects should result in a reduction in occupational safety risk and ultimately help fishermen and their families across the United States,” said Jennifer M. Lincoln, PhD, co-director of the NIOSH Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies, “It was exciting to see the high-quality applications and the number of states where the work will take place. We look forward to new projects in the next round of funding requests in 2020.”

About the Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Research and Training Grant Program

The Fishing Safety Research Grant Program was established by The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-281), as amended by the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-281). The Program was created to provide funding to advance fishing safety research and provide targeted, regionally appropriate training for the nation’s commercial fishermen. NIOSH works in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard to administer the program.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.