Occupational Hazards Faced by Inland Fishers of Odisha State, India

To identify occupational hazards and hazard control strategies adopted by inland fishers of Odisha state in India.

Information on occupational hazards faced by fishers was collected by personal interviews with 90 riverine and reservoir fishers of Odisha. Through qualitative discussions with key informants and review of literature, a list of occupational hazards were prepared and classified into physical, ergonomics, psychosocial, and natural. Responses were quantified, and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.

Occupational hazards faced by fishers were physical (94%), ergonomic (75%), psychosocial (50%), and natural (34%) in nature. Physical hazards include sharp fishing instruments, uneven surfaces, high temperatures, and wet/slippery areas on the vessel along with the presence of snake/leech/crocodile/fish fin rays. About 97% of reservoir and 90% of the riverine fishers reported physical hazards leading to cuts, fractures, dehydration, headache, sunburn, snakebite, leech bite, crocodile bite, and injuries due to fish fin rays. Heavy nature of work and force exerting activities caused pain in the upper back (50%), shoulders (45%), and lower back (41%). Regarding psychosocial hazard, stress (31%), and anxiety (23%) was reported. Common reasons for this were uncertainty in fish catch and extended working hours, causing tiredness, headache, dizziness, and fatigue. Natural hazards like cyclones, floods, and excessive rain caused financial loss and damage to fishing nets and boats. Regarding personal protective equipment (PPE), floating buoys were used by 26% of riverine and 43% of reservoir fishers to avoid drowning.

Occupational hazards in the inland fishing sector were identified as physical, ergonomic, psychosocial, and natural. No particular hazard control strategy was reported to be used. Integrating the occupational safety measures in the fisheries policies is thus needed.