Introduction
Risk in aquaculture operations has been described according to five dimensions: risks to material assets, personnel, fish welfare and health, environment, and food safety (Yang, Utne and Holmen, 2020). Workers at sea-based fish farms must consider all these risk dimensions in their everyday work. The occupational injury and fatality rate in Norwegian fish farming is high compared to other industries. On average, there has been one fatal accident per year in the period 2012-2020. Common modes of injuries include falls, blow by objects, entanglement/crush as well as cuts. Manual tasks are part of the work, and a survey showed that strain injuries was a main reason for worry, and the primary cause for work-related sick leave among aquaculture workers.
To support safe operations in aquaculture, safety management is mandatory. This presentation provides knowledge about the status of safety management and suggests improvements for occupational health and safety.
Materials and methods
The findings presented here are based on interviews, workshops, surveys, and document studies conducted over a period of almost ten years. Key projects include SFI Exposed (grant no. 237790), and Safer operations and workplaces in fish farming (grant no. 254899) supported by the Research Council of Norway.
Results
The focus on safety management from the regulatory authorities has expanded in recent years. The change from detailed, specific safety rules to functional regulatory requirements has increased the number of company-internal procedures (Størkersen et al., 2020). Aquaculture managers and operative personnel experience improved systematic safety work, but also that safety management systems could be more integrated in daily work (Kongsvik et al., 2018). Findings show that internal procedures are seen as too complicated, and that operators are not involved in the analysis phase of risk assessments (Holmen, Utne and Haugen, 2018). Challenges also exist regarding the implementation of risk assessments in the organizations and the transfer from risk assessments to improved operational safety.
Safety management that aims to protect workers must also consider the other risk dimensions found in operations, as well as the regulatory framework of the industry. Conflicting objectives related to protection versus production are found in aquaculture operations (Størkersen et al., 2021), and a survey showed that some employees think that production is prioritized at the expense of safety (Kongsvik et al., 2018). This may be related to organizational factors such as long work shifts and heavy workloads during large operations, which in turn may be connected to regulatory requirements.
Reduction of salmon lice and prevention of escape remain the major risks that guide regulation and technology development Salmon lice is the only indicator for sustainability and guides growth through the traffic light system. Delousing operations thus become highly important to make sure lice numbers are below the limit, but these operations may increase the risk levels personnel, fish welfare and environment negatively. A survey showed that during delousing, personnel report that they may work up to 20 hours for several days in a row (Thorvaldsen et al., 2020). Delousing has also been identified as an operation where risk of escape, lower fish welfare and fish mortality increases (Føre and Thorvaldsen, 2021).
Practitioners experience an abundance of internal rules and protocols due to mechanisms such as work auditability, managerial insecurity and liability and audit practices. It is therefore important to avoid implementing measures that increase the distance between how we think work is done, and how it is actually done. Safety management requires procedures, resources and involvement of personnel, and the practical value depends on the communication between those who develop the system and those who use it. Research confirms that safety measures that fit well with the everyday reality of workers are generally considered to have a higher practical relevance than others. For instance, the perceived practical relevance of measures such as planning (to avoid long working hours and alone work), involving personnel and a ensuring a skilled team, is considered to be higher than procedures (Thorvaldsen et al., 2021).
Conclusion
To ensure adequate safety management it is important to consider how operations are conducted. Safety activities should be assessed through involvement of personnel at the fish farms who have detailed knowledge of work practices. This way all risk dimensions and how they affect occupational health and safety can be considered.
Literature
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