Informing a Program to Increase Lifejacket Use with Pacific Northwest Fishermen

Fatalities continue to plague the US commercial fishing industry and have broad impacts on coastal communities and families. The success of the Lifejackets for Lobstermen program in the US Northeast led to the development of a Pacific Northwest regional Fishermen Led Injury Prevention Program (FLIPP) for Lifejackets. To be effective in a different region with distinct fisheries, adaptations must be based on regional community input. The goal of this research was to collect and apply the perspectives of commercial fishermen and community partners to improve vessel safety and in particular, lifejacket use, to guide the development of the FLIPP for Lifejackets program.

Four approaches were used in Washington and Oregon: (1) structured interviews with commercial fishing community partners, (2) surveys with fishermen, (3) lifejacket ranking by fishermen, and (4) brief surveys of regional fish observers.

Commercial fishing community partners (n = 54) confirmed that: a variety of brands/designs with good potential for commercial fishermen exist; there is interest in education around advances in materials and design; and the style depends on fishery, fishermen, and season. There is not a perfect model for all commercial fishing situations. From 98 fishermen interviewed, 15% always reported wearing a lifejacket on deck, 16% most, 40% some, and 25% none of the time. Most fishermen agreed it was important to wear a lifejacket/personal flotation device (PFD) (75%) and indicated interest in learning about new types of lifejackets (71%). Fishermen completed a ranking (n = 56), which showed the Mustang Inflatable Work Vest and Kent Rogue Work Vest stood out as the most preferred lifejackets. The majority of regional fish observers (n = 22) shared the frequency of vessels with at least one crew wearing a lifejacket was below 50%. Most reported fishermen's use of lifejackets was situational and agreed that attitudes regarding lifejacket use among fishermen had become more positive since they began observing.

Conversations and connections established through our efforts created collaborative opportunities and directly informed the design of the FLIPP for Lifejackets Program. These approaches can be used in other regions to establish commercial fishing as a safer industry.