Fatalities in the Norwegian fishing fleet 1990–2011

• There were a total of 281 fatalities in the Norwegian fishing fleet 1990–2011.
• An improvement in fatalities and incident rates is apparent over the study period.
• Drowning was the leading cause of fatality occurrence in the Norwegian fleet.
• Singular fatalities were significantly more common than multiple death incidents.
• Fishers over 40 years were more likely to suffer a fatal accident in the fleets.

Working at sea presents a considerable fatal accident risk to the fishers of the fleet, far exceeding any average land-based job, as far as incident rate per man-labor year. This no-doubt is the result of placing an industrial workplace on a moving, oscillating and inherently unstable working platform subject to the vagaries of the sea. Here hazardous work is conducted in cramped workspaces, on uneven, slippery and cluttered decks, with operations involving heavy fishing gears and mobile rotational machinery. The purpose of this article is to analyze the circumstances of the 281 deaths reported to the Norwegian authorities from the Norwegian fishing fleet over the period 1990–2011. The aim is to determine important characteristics and traits in the statistics, and to facilitate and focus the devising of future preventative intervention strategies. The results indicate that there has been a considerable reduction in the number of fatalities in the fishing fleet of Norway over this time frame. The average incidence rate for fatalities during the 22 year study period is 8.71 per 10,000 man years. Single, fatality occurrences are a more important cause of deaths in the fleet than multiple casualty events. The most significant modes of fatality are vessel disasters followed by man overboard events and drowning in port. The findings lead to a discussion on both the significance of the preventative measures put in place over the past two decades and the future directions and evolutions required for continued success in reducing fatalities in the Norwegian fleet.