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Fish Factor: 2017: Most Fishing Deaths in 13 Years By LAINE WELCH - “It’s time for a checkup from the neck up” – meaning an industry time out to evaluate fishing operations and behaviors, advises Jerry Dzugan, Director of the Sitka-based Alaska Marine Safety Education Association  for over 30 years. 

Dzugan was speaking in response to the 11 fishing deaths that have occurred in Alaska so far this year. It’s the most in 13 years and follows a 76 percent decrease in commercial fishing fatalities since the 1980s.

 “The causes are still capsizing, sinkings, swampings and man overboards (MOBs). They haven’t changed much,” Dzugan said. “People need to step back and focus on the basics, such as making sure your vessel is stable and water tight, and that your crew is protected from man overboards.”

Flooding and loss of boat stability are the cause of fifty percent of all fishing fatalities. Between 25 to 35 percent are from falling overboard, which is easily preventable. Dzugan said a long term federal study of over 500 Alaska fishing fatalities showed that not one MOB was wearing a life jacket. 

“You don’t fall in the water and die right away. You’ve got a half hour to an hour before you succumb to hypothermia. The biggest risk is drowning and we’ve had a solution to that for hundreds of years, and that’s a life preserver,” he explained.

There are a lot of “cultural barriers” to wearing PFDs (personal flotation devices), Dzugan said, combined with a lack of awareness of what is available today. The arguments heard in AMSEA training workshops are that PFDs are uncomfortable, they get snagged on things and they are difficult to work in. Minds are slowly changing, he said, and more fishing operations are now requiring that PFDs be worn on deck.

“When you show them products that are built in to your coveralls or comfortable vests that help keep you warm and help absorb shocks from banging around on deck, they go out and buy them,” he said. 

Test trials by fishermen bear that out. 

In a 2012 study  by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 400 Alaska fishermen wore six different PFDs for one month aboard crab boats, trawlers, longline and gillnet vessels. They then rated the gear for performance and comfort with a Mustang auto-inflatable PFD vest coming out on top. 

Most of the fisherman-approved models have PFDs built into suspenders, including Guy Cotton or Stearns rain gear. Stormy Seas, Regatta and Stearns models also feature yokes and bibs that clip into Grundens deck gear. Prices for the PFDs range from $125 to $200 and most are available at local gear shops.

Along with wearing life preservers, Dzugan said all vessels should have a mechanical way to get people back on board, at least with blocks and tackle, and a boarding ladder. 

“Make sure the crew knows what to do in that situation.  If you fish alone, be sure you get yourself back on the boat,” he stressed. 

Many man overboard alarms have an engine shut off capacity (most are in the $400 range), and Dzugan advises not going out on deck alone without telling someone, especially at night. More than half of all MOB’s are not witnessed. 

He added that a lot of fishermen don’t have good technical knowledge of vessel stability.

“A swamping takes just one wave,” he cautioned.

Have respect for anything that changes a boat’s center of gravity,  and make sure your vessel is water tight.

 “Even if the vessel originally had a water tight bulkhead, people drill holes through them for piping or electrical passages and don’t fill them up again,” he explained. “People get other priorities and they defer maintenance and often forget about the watertight integrity of their vessel.”

Vessels also should have high water alarms in every space and good pumps.

Check your immersion suits and other survival gear, Dzugan stressed, and do onboard safety drills. The U.S Coast Guard Fishing Vessel Safety Act states “the master, or other person in charge of each commercial fishing vessel, must ensure that basic safety drills and instructions are given to each crewman at least once each month.”

“It’s tough for the Coast Guard to enforce,” Dzugan said. “A lot of people think doing a drill is talking about it around the galley table once a year.”

Another cause of fishing accidents is simply fatigue and not getting enough sleep.

“All the studies show that your decision making decreases the longer you go without sleep, and you start making stupid mistakes,” he said.

Another lifesaving safety tip: pay attention to weather forecasts. Dzugan said.

“Mother Nature doesn’t care a whit about you,” Dzugan said. “If there’s a storm forecast, don’t go out. It’s not worth it.”  - More...
Monday PM - August 07, 2017  

Red Sunset
When we see a red sky at night, this usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.
Front Page Feature Photo By GLORIA CONSTANTINE ©2017

Southeast Alaska: Coast Guard Cutter Maple reaches Northwest Passage during historic voyage - The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Maple reached the Northwest Passage Thursday during their historic voyage accompanied by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier and crew underway in the Amundsen Gulf, Canada.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Maple, a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender last homeported in Sitka, Alaska, departed July 12, 2017, on this historic voyage through the Northwest Passage.

The Maple crew has transited 3,014 miles since they departed Sitka July 12. The cutter is serving as a ship of opportunity to conduct scientific research in support of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The Maple crew has deployed a sonographic buoy used to record acoustic sounds of marine mammals and assisted the research scientist aboard the cutter analyze the data retrieved from the buoys. 

The crew used their buoy-tending skills and equipment to recover a high-frequency acoustic recording package (HARP) that is attached to the buoy. The device was developed by the Whale Acoustics Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is used to record underwater sound in a broad range of frequencies, including the sounds made by Arctic marine mammals. The crew also assisted the scientist’s with zooplankton sampling and measuring the properties of seawater at various depths and locations after a successful recovery and reset of the HARP.

“One of our primary missions during this transit is to provide scientific support,” said Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Armstrong, commanding officer of the Maple. “Maple is scheduled for a year-long dry dock in Baltimore this August for repairs and upgrades. It is exciting to transit the Northwest Passage with an opportunity to assist with research aimed at understanding various species in this remote part of the world. Protecting life here begins with understanding it.” - More...
Tuesday PM - August 07, 2017

TOM PURCELL: Living to 125 Too Much of a Good Thing? - "A 125-year life expectancy for human beings? I have zero desire to stick around that long."

"Ah, yes, you speak of a debate among scientists over human longevity. I read about it at Business Insider. Some scientists argue that the maximum age humans may live is 115 years, whereas others argue that 125 years is possible."

"A hundred and twenty-five years of watching Republicans and Democrats going at it? The heck with that."

"Living is rife with challenges, to be sure. But living a long life has its upsides. Wouldn't you want to visit your parents and other family members for a lot more years than most of us are able? Wouldn't you like to see them all at a Sunday dinner several more times than most human beings are able?"

"Maybe with your family. My family has taken years off of my life!"

"I see, but wouldn't it be awesome if some of our finest human beings could stick around longer? Don Rickles, one of the greatest entertainers ever, died this year at 91. How great would it be to keep him around for two more decades?"

"True, but if Rickles were to stick around longer, that means annoying celebrities would stick around, too, and keep yapping at us every time a Republican becomes president."

"There are other upsides to a longer life. What if we could keep our greatest minds around longer? Where would the world be if Einstein had another 25 years to unlock the mysteries of the universe?" - More...
Monday PM - August 07, 2017

RICK JENSEN: O Canada! If Only Liberals Knew All the Facts - Canada is often touted in the United States as the panacea of health care, leadership, love, peace and thick bacon.

Listening to Democrats Bernie Sanders, Maxine Waters and Chuck Schumer, one would think there are no Canadians waiting longer than Americans for life-saving surgeries or just to see a doctor in an emergency room.

Canada is perfect!

Since liberals enjoy the comparative phrase, "industrialized nations," there may be some angst or denial in the fact that the Canadian Institute for Health Information has given their emergency room rating a failing grade.

According to the independent non-profit, established to provide actionable information about the nation's health care system, "....compared to other industrialized countries, Canada has the highest proportion of patients reporting excessively long waits in an emergency department."

On average, it takes nearly four hours to see a doctor after you've arrived at a Canadian emergency room. In fact, 29 percent of Canadians checking into emergency rooms have to wait four hours or longer before being seen by a practitioner.

Last year, Quebec's health and welfare commissioner reported 35 percent of patients in the province have to wait five hours or more for care.That's not just bad, it's the very worst in the western hemisphere.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control reports the average wait time to see a doctor in U.S. emergency rooms is thirty minutes. - More...
Monday PM - August 08, 2017