Oceanic plastic pollution caused by Danish seine fishing in Norway.

Wear and tear on fishing gear is a sparsely investigated source of microplastic pollution in the sea. In Norway, Danish seine ropes and trawls are the fishing gears that contribute most to this pollution. The main reason for this pollution is that the seine ropes are dragged along the seabed over a considerable distance, creating a friction force that results in high ropes wear. This note reports the findings after examining the wear of Danish seine ropes used in Norwegian fisheries. The results show that, in Norway alone, an average of 77 to 97 tons of plastic will be added to the sea annually due to this specific fishing gear. Aggregated to include all fly dragging, anchor seining, and pair seining globally, this number is estimated to be about 311 tons per year.

Musculoskeletal symptoms among workers in the commercial fishing fleet of Norway.

BACKGROUND: Fishers exposed to unfavourable environmental conditions may suffer negative health ef- fects. This study aimed to identify musculoskeletal symptoms in professional fishers in Norway using data from several sources; register data, telephone survey and questionnaire. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Professional fishers (n = 25,971) registered in the period 2008-2013 were selected by Statistics Norway (SSB). An age- and gender-matched control population (n = 77,913) was also selected. Outpatient consultation and hospitalisation data were received from the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR). To obtain information about self-reported symptoms, 832 registered fishers on board Norwegian fishing vessels were interviewed by telephone, and a questionnaire was distributed to the crews of 5 trawlers (n = 153). RESULTS: Data from NPR showed that fishers, compared to the control population, suffered significantly more acute incidents related to musculoskeletal disorders (5.4% vs. 4.8%, respectively), injuries to arms (11.3% vs. 9.8%), feet (8.4% vs. 8%), and back (0.9% vs. 0.7%). In the telephone survey, 61% and 43% reported that they performed monotonous work operations and heavy lifting often or very often, respec- tively. Thirty-three per cent had experienced pain in neck/shoulders/arms often or very often during the previous 12 months, and 93% believed this was fully or partly due to their work situation. The questionnaire among trawler crew members showed that 57% and 60% had experienced stiffness and/or pain in neck/ /shoulders and lower back/small of the back respectively during the previous 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Data from the register study, telephone survey and questionnaire all confirmed that musculo- skeletal problems are common among fishers and related to their work situation. However, 77% of the fishers in all vessel groups and on board the 5 trawlers reported their own health as being very good or good.

Work environment and health in the fishing fleet: results from a survey amongst Norwegian fishers.

BACKGROUND: Fishery is an important industry in Norway. Compared to other industries the number of occupational accidents is high. Fishers are exposed to a range of unfavourable working conditions, but there is limited research-based knowledge about the interaction between working conditions and health. The aim of the article is to study fishers' 1) work-related exposures and health complaints, 2) sickness absence, 3) subjective perception of health status and 3) level of job satisfaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data was gathered through a telephone survey. The survey included questions about exposure, health complaints, health status and job satisfaction. Methods for analysis were descriptive statistics and relative risk (RR). RESULTS: A total of 830 full-time fishers were interviewed. Coastal fishers are more exposed to factors such as climatic (RR = 1.546, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.311-1.823), ergonomic (RR = 1.539, 95% CI 1.293-1.833) and processing (RR = 2.119, 95% CI 1.847-2.431), compared to other groups of fishers. Coastal fishers are also more likely to experience musculoskeletal problems (RR = 1.623, 95% CI 1.139-2.314), sickness absence (RR = 1.337, 95% CI 1.081-1.655) and to perceive their own health as poor (RR = 2.155, 95% CI 1.119-4.152). Purse sein fishers are less exposed to climatic (RR = 0.777, 95% CI 0.633-0.953), ergonomic (RR = 0.617, 95% CI 0.487-0.783) and processing (RR = 0.292, 95% CI 0.221-0.385) factors and are less likely to experience sickness absence (RR = 0.635, 95% CI 0.479-0.840). In terms of job satisfaction, 99% if our respondents enjoy their work. CONCLUSIONS: Norwegian fishers have a high degree of job satisfaction and overall good health. Challenges regarding health complaints and exposures in the working environment were identified. This may be helpful for the industry, showing where measures should be implemented to prevent exposure, illness and sickness absence. Findings may also serve as a basis for future intervention studies aimed at promoting healthy working environments for fishers, especially how to improve vessels and develop user-friendly technology to reduce risk of injuries and strain.