SW Ag Center Aims to Improve Safety for Gulf of Mexico Shrimping Industry
September 30, 2019
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler’s Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention and Education has been awarded a matching grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The grant, totaling $325,000, was awarded to Dr. Jeffrey Levin and his team in the SW Ag Center to make yet another meaningful impact in occupational safety.
The SW Ag Center was created in late 1995 at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler to serve Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas as part of a program initiative of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The initiative established a network of centers, funded on a competitive basis, to conduct programs of research, prevention, intervention, education and outreach designed to reduce occupational injuries and diseases among agricultural workers and their families. SW Ag Center’s new project plans to significantly improve safety in the Gulf of Mexico.
In the Gulf of Mexico, commercial fishing is big business, especially shrimping. However, this industry is certainly a dangerous one. In 2016, the United States commercial fishing industry experienced worker fatality rates 23 times higher than the national average for all industries. SW Ag’s project aims to change this. With very little is known about crew overboard (COB) rescue attempts in this fleet, the grant-funded project will build upon well-established partnerships with the commercial fishing community and complement the current SW Ag Center research that addresses barriers to the use of personal flotation devices while on deck by Gulf of Mexico shrimpers. The team plans to fill this information gap and to engage vessel owners to reduce COB events and initiate effective rescue attempts in a timely manner.
Based on limited data, expeditious recovery from the water is critical for survival. The aims of this intervention research project are to:
- Distribute COB recovery slings to commercial shrimp fishing vessel owners at three selected ports/landing sites along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.
- Provide mandatory training and drill instruction for installation and use of the recovery devices including maneuvering to the COB, securing the COB and implementing a mechanical advantage to hoist and re-board the COB.
- Administer surveys at the time of training and at follow-up to obtain information on commercial fishermen’s experience with COB; to assess attitudes, beliefs, and intention toward COB recovery methods in this project; and assess perceived ability as well as efficiency of using the recovery sling.
“One of the greatest things about working at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler is knowing that what we do is saving lives today and will continue to save lives into the future,” commented Executive Vice President Joe Woelkers. “This matching grant will help save the lives of shrimpers who fall overboard while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.”
The grant will fund research and also pay for the distribution of rescue slings and training in their use by boat crews in Louisiana and Texas. This funding is part of more than $2 million UT Health Science Center at Tyler received in federal grants for 2019-2020 just to improve occupational safety and health through research, development and training of physicians to work in this specialized field.