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163
In Ma i Heal h
2016; 67, 3: 163–170
DOI: 10.5603/IMH.2016.0031
www.in ma heal h.pl
Copy igh © 2016 PSMTTM
ISSN 1641–9251
ORIGINAL PAPER
Kim Ola i Kaus ell, M.Sc., Na u al Resou ces Ins i u e Finland, Koe ilan ie 5, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland, e-mail: [email p o ec ed]
Occupa ional inju ies and diseases among
comme cial ishe s in Finland 1996–2015
Kim O. Kaus ell, Tiina E.A. Ma ila, Ris o H. Rau iainen
Na u al Resou ces Ins i u e Finland, Helsinki, Finland
AbsTRAcT
Backg ound:
Comme cial ishing is ecognised as one o he mos haza dous p o essions wo ldwide. In
Finland, comme cial ishing has some special cha ac e is ics, including ishing on ice du ing ozen wa e s,
and plu iac i i y o he ishe amily o gain addi ional income. The goal o his s udy was o desc ibe inju y
cha ac e is ics among comme cial ishe s in Finland du ing he yea s 1996–2015. Wi h his in o ma ion,
we wish o p omo e c ea ion o e ec i e sa e y campaigns and in e en ions.
Ma e ials and me hods:
The da a o his s udy was acqui ed om The Fa me s’ Social Insu ance Ins i-
u ion, who handles he manda o y pension and occupa ional inju y insu ance o Finnish comme cial
ishe s. Desc ip i e s a is ics was used o ca ego ise and analyse he da a ha comp ised he anonymised
insu ance his o y o 1954 insu ed ishe s and epo s on 1135 compensa ed inju ies, 11 a ali ies, and
53 occupa ional disease cases.
Resul s:
The esul s show, ha he inju y a e o Finnish comme cial ishe s is high. Fo y pe cen o he
ishing- ela ed inju ies occu aboa d o when en e ing o lea ing he essel, while 37% happened asho e,
and 11% on sea o lake ice. The mos common ype o inciden is p eceded by a slip, ip, o sway ollowed
by a all o lowe le el. The inju ies esul in a median disabili y leng h o 21 days. An ele a ed isk o
Finnish ( s. Swedish) speaking, as well as o male ishe s was ound. The occupa ional diseases o he
s udied popula ion we e o he mos pa esul s o manual, epe i i e and/o physically s aining wo k
due o e.g. hauling in ishing equipmen . Due o small numbe s and lack o case da a, i is no possible o
make any u he analysis o he 11 a ali ies, which we e all d ownings.
Conclusions:
Based on ou indings, inju y p e en ion should be a ge ed, besides p e en ing a ali ies
because o d owning, a mi iga ing he isks o slips, ips, and alls bo h aboa d and asho e.
(In Ma i Heal h 2016; 67, 3: 163–170)
Key wo ds: comme cial ishing, occupa ional sa e y, occupa ional disease

InTROducTIOn
Comme cial ishing is haza dous compa ed wi h mos
o he occupa ions [1, 2]. Fishing has long adi ions in Fin-
land, bu ha d physical wo k in a ying wea he condi ions,
unp edic able ca ch, economic p essu es, and s ic go -
e nmen al con ols ha e made his old p o ession less
a ac i e in ecen yea s. While Finnish comme cial ishing
has unique economic s uc u e and challenges, analysis o
longi udinal na ional occupa ional inju y and disease da a
can con ibu e o be e unde s anding o he isks and
oppo uni ies o p e en ion.
The numbe o egis e ed ishe s in Finland has de-
c eased om 3943 in 1998 o 2473 in 2014 [3, 4]. Mos
o he ull- ime and pa - ime ishe s (accoun ing o 25%
and 75% o egis e ed comme cial ishe s, espec i ely)
ish pe ch, whi e ish, and pike pe ch in coas al wa e a -
eas wi h ne s and yke-ne s. Fishing essels a e ypically
small; he sha e o egis e ed essel less han 12 m in
leng h has been o e 92% (97.6% in 2014) in coas al and
o sho e a eas in ecen yea s [3]. Only a small numbe o
ishe s and essels a e in ol ed in ishing Bal ic he ing in
open sea a eas; howe e , i is he mos impo an ca ch in
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164
Figu e 1. Numbe o egis e ed comme cial ishe s by ishing a ea and occupa ion ype, and he numbe o Ma a-insu ed comme cial
ishe s; *Census o comme cial ishe s on lakes is done bi-annually as o 1998, and he numbe s be ween census yea s ha e been
in e pola ed (1999–2013) and linea ly ex apola ed (yea s 1996, 1997 and 2015)
Finland. The economic alue o he Bal ic he ing ca ch was
23 million eu o in 2015. The o al ish ca ch o comme cial
ishe s om sea a eas was 148 million kg, alued a
37 million eu o in 2015 [3].
While ishing is known o ha e high occupa ional a ali y
a es, he e is lack o speci ic in o ma ion, pa icula ly on
non- a al inju ies. A be e unde s anding o he wo king
en i onmen and inju y isks is needed o c ea e e ec i e
sa e y campaigns and in e en ions. To add ess his gap, he
aim o his s udy was o desc ibe inju y cha ac e is ics among
comme cial ishe s du ing he pas 20 yea s in Finland.
MATERIAls And METHOds
The da a o his s udy we e acqui ed om he Finnish
Fa me s Social Insu ance Ins i u ion’s (Mela) acciden insu -
ance (Ma a) da abase. These da a comp ised demog aphic
in o ma ion on all Ma a-insu ed ishe s du ing he yea s
1996–2015. The Ma a insu ance is manda o y o ishe s
and hei amily membe s i hey pay ax om hei ishing
income and i hei income om ishing is a leas 3779
eu o pe yea (2016 le el). Du ing he pe iod 1998–2014,
32–24% o all comme cial ishe s we e co e ed by he Ma a
insu ance (Fig. 1) [5].
The Ma a insu ance sys em does no co e small scale
comme cial ishing, ishing ou side o he e i o ial wa e s o
Finland, and mos o ish a ming. Comp ehensi e insu ance
and occupa ional inju y da a o he whole p o essional ishe
popula ion a e no a ailable, because many a e insu ed as
a me s, ish p ocessing en ep eneu s, o o he , and a e
hus no included in he da a sou ce a ailable o his s udy.
The da a comp ised a o al o 1954 people who we e
insu ed as ishe s du ing he yea s 1996–2015. O hese,
535 su e ed one o mo e inju ies, o a o al o 1135
compensa ed inju ies and 11 a ali ies. The claims da a
also included 53 occupa ional disease cases ha we e
diagnosed in 27 insu ed people. Due o missing da a on
inju y de ails, o lack o explici connec ion o he inju y o
comme cial ishing, 303 inju y cases we e ejec ed om
he o iginal inju y da a. The inal inju y da a analysed in his
s udy hus comp ises compensa ed inju y claims o 844
inju ies and 41 occupa ional diseases. Among he inju ies,
he e we e 11 a ali ies.
The anonymised da a included in o ma ion on age, gen-
de , and mo he ongue o he insu ed; home and inju y
loca ions, income and insu ance pe iod de ails, inju y da e,
wo k ask du ing inju y, con ac mode, speci ic physical ac-
i i y, de ia ion om usual cou se o wo k, ma e ial agen ,
inju ed body pa , ype o inju y, ICD-10 diagnosis code,
disabili y du a ion, as well as a sho (up o 432 cha ac e s)
desc ip ion o he inciden o exposu e. Nume ic and cod-
ed da a we e used o desc ip i e s a is ics, and inciden
desc ip ions we e analysed and ca ego ised o addi ional
insigh in o causa ion. Basic calcula ions we e made using
Mic oso Excel 2010. SAS En e p ise Guide . 7.11 so wa e
was used o addi ional analysis [6].
The social insu ance da a om Mela does no include
in o ma ion on pe son-wo k-yea s, no does i dis inguish
be ween ull- o pa - ime occupa ion ishe s. To be able
o es ima e he inju y a e (numbe o inju ies pe pe -
son-wo k-yea s), he main s. pa - ime a io o he Ma a-
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Kim O. Kaus ell e al., Occupa ional inju ies and diseases among comme cial ishe s in Finland 1996–2015
Figu e 2. Yea ly numbe o inju ies and inju y a es pe 100 people and pe son-wo k-yea s
-insu ed people was es ima ed using he a io indica ed in
he egis e o all comme cial ishe s [3, 4]. The calcula ion
o pe son-wo k-yea s is based on he assump ion o ull ime
ishe s accoun ing o 0.9 pe son-wo k-yea s pe yea , and
pa ime occupa ion ishe s accoun ing o 0.45 pe son-
wo k-yea s pe yea , as used in [7].
REsulTs
sTudy pOpulATIOn
The s udy popula ion comp ised 1954 insu ed people
(1659 o 85% male), o which 439 su e ed one o mo e
inju ies and 20 we e diagnosed ha ing one o mo e occu-
pa ional diseases du ing he pe iod.
In he s udy popula ion, he mean age a ime o inju y
was 47.6 yea s wi h an inc easing linea end o 0.43
( 2 = 0.76) yea s pe yea du ing he obse ed pe iod. Co -
espondingly, he mean age o he insu ed popula ion was
48.3 yea s o e he en i e s udy pe iod, wi h a yea ly linea
inc ease o 0.25 yea s o age pe calenda yea ( 2 = 0.93).
The age dis ibu ion o he inju ed ishe s anges om
21 o 73. Mos (38%) o he inju ies happened o ishe s in
he age ca ego y om 45 o 54 yea s. The inju ed had om
0 o 41 yea s o expe ience as ishing en ep eneu s, wi h
a median o 14 yea s and a e age 14.9 yea s. Fou o he
844 inju ies occu ed o amily membe s o he insu ed
ishe , while doing ishing- ela ed wo k.
Finland is a bi-lingual coun y, and he majo i y o he Swed-
ish-speaking popula ion esides in coas al a eas. In he s udy
popula ion, 668 o 34% o he insu ed ishe s we e Swedish
speaking. In he whole popula ion o Finland, he sha e o
Swedish speaking popula ion was 5.5% in yea 2005 [8].
NoN-Fa al iNju ies
The e we e a o al o 833 non- a al, ishing- ela ed oc-
cupa ional inju ies ha occu ed o 439 insu ed ishe s
du ing he obse ed pe iod. Mos o he inju ed people
(59%, o 259) su e ed jus one inju y du ing he obse ed
pe iod while 41% o 178 people we e inju ed wo o mo e
imes. The wo mos equen ly inju ed ishe s had 13 and
16 ishing- ela ed inju ies du ing he obse ed pe iod.
The es ima ed a e age inju y a e was 7.9 inju ies pe
100 pe son-wo k-yea s, o 4.5 inju ies pe 100 insu ed peo-
ple. Bo h a es ha e a sligh , al hough no s a is ically sig-
ni ican , downwa d end o e he obse ed pe iod (Fig. 2).
Mos (401 o 91%) o he inju ed ishe s we e male. As
85% o all insu ed ishe s we e males, hey had 2.2 imes
g ea e odds o inju y (95% con idence in e al 1.5–3.1)
compa ed wi h emales.
A o al o 198 (24%) o he inju ies happened o Swed-
ish speaking ishe s, while he sha e o Swedish speaking
ishe s among all insu ed ishe s is 34%. The odds o being
inju ed we e 1.5 imes g ea e o he Finnish speaking
ishe s ( s. Swedish speaking) (95% con idence in e al
1.2–1.9).
Based on he inju y desc ip ions, 40% o all ishing- e-
la ed inju ies occu ed on ishing essels/boa s o du ing
boa ding/exi ing he essel/boa . The es occu ed asho e,
on sea o lake ice du ing win e ishing ac i i ies, o he
loca ion was no epo ed (Fig. 3).
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166
o he STF cases. The co esponding igu es we e 22% o
“Floo , aisle, deck, doo s ep”, 7% o “Boa o essel”, and
5% o “Fishing gea and equipmen ”.
Mos inju ies (56%) we e caused by ho izon al o e ical
impac wi h o agains a s a iona y objec . Being s uck by
o colliding wi h a mo ing objec led o an inju y in 10% o
he cases, while s ess on he musculo-skele al sys em
caused 9% o all inju ies. The inju ed pa o body was yp-
ically uppe ex emi ies (44%), lowe ex emi ies (23%) o
back, including spine and e eb a in he back (17%). Head
auma accoun ed o 6% o all inju ies.
The mos common ypes o inju ies we e disloca ions,
sp ains and s ains (40%), wounds and supe icial inju ies
(25%), bone ac u es (16%), and concussions and in e nal
inju ies (16%). The emaining inju y ypes ep esen equen-
cies smalle han 2%.
The se e i y o he inju ies is e lec ed in he leng h
o disabili y. The a e age numbe o days los pe inju y,
excluding occupa ional diseases, was 82.7 days, while he
median was 21 days (Fig. 4). Calcula ed in calenda yea s,
on a e age 8.6 yea s o wo king ime we e annually los
due o inju ies du ing he s udy pe iod.
Fa ali ies
The e we e 11 a ali ies du ing he pe iod, luc ua ing
om 0 o 3 (in 2007) pe yea , esul ing in a a ali y a e
o 1.06 pe 1000 calcula ed pe son-wo k-yea s. All a al
inju ies we e d ownings, al hough he pe son may ha e
also su e ed seconda y inju ies. All ic ims we e men wi h
a mean age o 42 yea s. Pa icula causes o chains o
e en s ha lead o hese a ali ies a e no known. S o m
was men ioned in wo inju y desc ip ions, and in wo cases,
he inciden happened when manoeu ing/mo ing he boa
in ha bou . Se en happened in Oc obe o No embe , one
in Feb ua y and h ee in Ap il/May, all du ing open wa e s
(no du ing ishing on ice).
Figu e 3. Loca ion o inju y inciden s
Table 1. Wo k asks du ing inju y
Wo king p ocess n pe cen
Main enance and epai o equipmen 168 20.2%
Fish handling, anspo and s o age 136 16.3%
O he speci ic ishing wo k*126 15.1%
T awling*101 12.1%
O he unclea o unspeci ied ishing wo k 84 10.1%
Commu ing o o om he ishing essel 65 7.8%
Fishing wi h ne s*61 7.3%
Fishing wi h d ag ne s*33 4.0%
Fishing wi h yke ne s*26 3.1%
O he 33 4.0%
*Ac ual ishing p ocesses, including win e ishing on ice
Ac ual ishing p ocesses wi h di e en kind o equip-
men accoun ed o 42% o he inju ies. The mos equen
wo k asks du ing he ime o he inciden in ol ed main-
enance and epai o equipmen (20%), ollowed by ish
handling, anspo and s o age (16%) (Table 1). Mos o he
“ ish handling, anspo and s o age” (65%), “commu ing
o/ om he essel” (59%), and “equipmen main enance
and epai ” (57%) ela ed inju ies happened asho e. The
inju ed people we e mo ing a ound (e.g. walking, unning
o climbing) wi hou a load in 14%; manually handling
objec s (e.g. ca ching, g asping, ying o opening/closing
doo s o ha ches) in 10%; and mo ing objec s manually
(e.g. li ing, pushing, pulling loads) in 9% o he cases.
The abno mal e en (de ia ion) ha led o hal o all
ishing ela ed inju ies was slip, sway o ip leading o all
(STF) o lowe (30%) o same (20%) le el (Table 2). Slippe y
e ain o ice was associa ed wi h STF- ela ed inju ies in 28%
Table 2. De ia ions ha led o inju ies
de ia ion n pe cen
Slips, ips, sways and alls o same o
lowe le el
416 49.9%
Body mo emen s wi hou physical load 102 12.2%
Loss o con ol o unspeci ied machine,
ehicle, o objec
86 10.3%
Su p ise, ge ing upse , iolence 37 4.4%
Body mo emen unde physical s ess 56 6.7%
B eak, collapse o all o objec o s uc u e 54 6.5%
Elec ical dis u bance, explosion, i e 4 0.5%
O he o no known 78 9.4%
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Kim O. Kaus ell e al., Occupa ional inju ies and diseases among comme cial ishe s in Finland 1996–2015
Figu e 4. F equency o inju ies by leng h o disabili y
Table 3. Occupa ional diseases o ishe s in 1996–2015
diagnosis iCD-10 nexample o inju y desc ip ion
“Tennis elbow” and o he
en e opa hies, in ec i e bu si is
M77
M771
M779
M711
18 Du ing ne ishing and because o high wind, I was o ced o excep ionally ha d
li ing o ne s in o he boa by hand. Du ing a couple o days o s o m, my le
hand go so e because o li ing wo k.
Syno i is and enosyno i is M65
M658
14 Ice was hicke han no mal du ing win e 1999. I had o use an ice pick o make
mo e holes han usually, and wi h ha de wo k, o mo e han one hund ed sp ing
hooks and 60 ne s. My le hand became o e s ained and go so e. I wen o
a doc o one mon h la e .
“Mole e e ”, o he i al
haemo hagic e e s
A98
A985
3N.N. had sudden high e e and muscle pain. Diagnosis: mole e e . Possible
in ec ion sou ce epai ing ishing equipmen in a ba n, whe e abo e-men ioned
equipmen was s o ed.
So issue diso de s ela ed o
use, o e use and p essu e
M700 2 I was line ishing. I hauled in he snoods by hand o eigh hou s. My le hand go
so e and swelled.
E ec s o ib a ion, “Whi e inge
synd ome”
T752 2 Finge s become whi e, cold and ge pain in cold condi ions. This happens when
wea he has been cooling down. Hands a e cold o a long ime. The si ua ion has
slowly been ge ing wo se and s opped win e ishing.
I i an con ac de ma i is L248 2 A ash b oke ou when I was p ocessing ish.
OccupATIOnAl dIsEAsEs
The e we e 41 ishing- ela ed occupa ional disease
cases in he 20-yea da a. Se en o hese we e diagnosed
in women and 34 in male ishe s. Occupa ional diseases
we e mos ypically caused by physically ha d, epe i i e
o un amilia wo k asks o wo king pos u es, o sudden,
s aining mo emen s. Also ha sh/cold wea he condi ions
we e men ioned in he sho inciden desc ip ions. ICD-10
code 711, La e al epicondyli is, o “Tennis elbow” [9])
alone co e s one hi d, o 14, o he occupa ional disease
diagnoses (Table 3).
dIscussIOn
The numbe o comme cial ishe s in Finland has de-
c eased while hei mean age has inc eased. E en hough
he inju y a e has a sligh downwa d end, he a e is s ill
almos wice as high compa ed wi h all sala ied occupa-
ions (4.5 s. 2.6 inju ies pe 100 people). The inju y a e
ound in his s udy is in acco dance wi h ha o he b oade
combined class “Ag icul u e, o es y, and ishing” epo ed
in he na ional s a is ics [10]. The a e (4.5/100) o he
obse ed ishe popula ion is based on ishing- ela ed inju-
ies only. Conside ing he plu iac i i y o he ypical Finnish
ishe s and accoun ing o bo h ishing and non- ishing- e-
la ed inju ies in he obse ed ishe popula ion, he inju y
a e was 6.1 pe 100 pe son-yea s. This is simila o he
inju y a e o Finnish ag icul u e epo ed by Ka unen
and Rau iainen [11].
The odds o inju y we e mo e han wice as high in males
compa ed wi h emales. This di e ence is likely in luenced

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168
by he di ision o wo k asks and ishing- ela ed wo king
hou s by gende . I is also no ewo hy, ha mo he ongue
o he insu ed ishe s had a signi ican associa ion wi h he
odds o inju y, likely due o unde - epo ing among Swedish
speaking ishe s. A simila po en ial unde epo ing o in-
ju ies has also been obse ed in Finnish a me s [11–13].
The easons o he di e ence in inju y isk o bo h gende
and mo he ongue would equi e u he s udies.
T adi ionally, in addi ion o ac ual ishing, Finnish ishe s
also conduc ishing- ela ed wo k asho e, such as p ocess-
ing ish and anspo ing i o ma ke as well as main enance
and epai o boa s, equipmen and s uc u es/buildings
o hese ac i i ies. Only 40% o he inju ies we e di ec ly
connec ed o wo k on ishing essels. Li le a en ion has
been paid o acciden s ha occu when essels a e in he
ha bou , as s a ed by Le Boua and Chau in [14]. They no-
iced ha abou 30% o all egis e ed inju ies in he ishing
indus y in F ance occu ed in hese si ua ions.
Sea and lake ishing in Finland di e s om mos o he
coun ies in win e ime due o se e al mon hs o ice co e .
Inju ies su e ed on ice while ishing o commu ing o/ om
he ishing si e comp ised 97 o 11.6% o all obse ed cases.
In 12 cases he inju y was he esul o losing con ol o
a snowmobile while iding on une en ice.
In he obse ed pe iod, 168 o 20% o he inju ies hap-
pened when he insu ed pe son was e.g. mending o uning
ishing gea , epai ing he landing, o ixing he boa . Main-
enance and epai wo k has been ecognised o be one o
he mos haza dous wo king p ocesses in ag icul u e as well
[15, 16]. Suspec ed easons o his a e limi ed esou ces o
make sa e y imp o emen s, he slow inc emen al e olu ion
o he physical wo king en i onmen whe e old haza dous
s uc u es emain long in place, and also some pe sonal
cha ac e is ics o a me s [17].
Slips, ips and sways ha lead o all, and esul in an
inju y, a e he mos common de ia ion ype in mos occupa-
ional inju y s udies. Jensen [18] s udied inju ies in Danish
ish landings/ha bou s, and ound ha 25% o he inju ies
we e esul s o his ype o de ia ion. An ão e al. [19] ound
he co esponding igu e o he Po uguese ishing sec o o
be 28%. In his s udy, STF inju ies ep esen almos one hal
o he inciden s, bu when limi ed o only essel/boa - ela ed
inciden s, he igu e was 23%.
Se e i y and economic signi icance o inju ies can be
es ima ed by analysing leng hs o disabili y. In his s udy,
he median o days los due o inju y was 3 weeks. The e
is g ea a ia ion in he leng h o compensa ed disabili y
e en wi hin simila inju y ype/diagnosis. The economic
signi icance o he inju y and disabili y ime on he business
o he ishe also depends on whe he o no he disabili y
coincides wi h high season o ca ching ish.
The annual numbe o a al inju ies appea s o ha e
dec eased du ing he obse ed pe iod. The la es a al in-
ju y occu ed in 2007. Fou addi ional ishing a ali ies
du ing he s udied pe iod could be ound in in es iga ion
epo s published by he Sa e y In es iga ion Au ho i y [20].
These happened o ishe s o whom he Ma a insu ance is
no manda o y and who hus we e no among he s udied
popula ion.
Due o small numbe s and annual a ia ion, i is no
possible o conclude i he educ ion in he equency o
a ali ies is s a is ically signi ican . Jensen e al. [21] com-
pa ed a al inju y ends in 8 no he n a eas/coun ies
and also ound mainly dec easing ends o he a al inju y
incidence a es om 1980 o 2010. They s a ed ha small
essels ha e a highes isk. The a ali y a e o 1.06 pe
1000 pe son-wo k-yea s calcula ed in his s udy, as well as
he main causes ( essel disas e s and d owning) a e well in
acco dance wi h he indings o Jensen e al. [21].
The Ma a insu ance compensa es occupa ional dis-
eases in addi ion o inju ies. The compensable diseases
a e de ined in law, simila o wo ke s’ compensa ion insu -
ance ules o o he occupa ions. Manual, epe i i e and/
/o physically s aining wo k exposes ishe s o cumula i e
auma and so issue ou comes. O he ou comes included
haemo hagic e e (likely om exposu e o oden s), i i an
con ac de ma i is ( om p ocessing ish), and whi e inge
( om ib a ion exposu e).
Comme cial ishing in Finland is ypically on a small-
scale and seasonal, which leads o he need o addi ional
income om o he employmen . Fa ming, a ious se ices,
and sala ied wo k, along wi h small scale ish p ocessing
and sales a e some o he mos common addi ional ways o
ea ning supplemen al income [22]. I possibili ies o o he
income a e limi ed in he a ea, i will pu high s ess on
ge ing a good ca ch du ing he season, which can be sho .
In p ac ice his means e y long wo king hou s, a igue and
sa e y isks du ing he season. Fa igue has been ound o
be a se ious heal h and sa e y p oblem among ishe s [23].
In his s udy, i could no be de e mined i s ess, a igue,
and sleep dep i a ion con ibu ed o he inju ies. While i
is likely, u he s udies would be needed o in es iga e
hei con ibu ion.
limi a ioNs oF he s uDy
The social insu ance inju y claims da a used in his
s udy only co e s app oxima ely 25% o he comme cial
ishe s. Howe e , hese da a may co e mos ac i e ishe s
as minimum income o he manda o y insu ance is low;
3779 eu o pe yea om ishing. In addi ion, ou da a misses
comme cial ishing ou side Finnish e i o ial wa e s. This
complica es s a is ical assessmen and in e p e a ion o
www.in ma heal h.pl
169
Kim O. Kaus ell e al., Occupa ional inju ies and diseases among comme cial ishe s in Finland 1996–2015
occupa ional inju ies and diseases ela ed o he ishing
p o ession as a whole in Finland. The e is also a possibili y o
non- ishing ela ed inju ies being included due o he supple-
men al occupa ional ac i i ies among ishe s, e en i hese
we e ca e ully emo ed based on he inju y desc ip ions.
Inju y claims da a used in his s udy may be subjec o
unde epo ing, which can unde coun he o al numbe
o inju ies, mino inju ies in pa icula . The da a can also
include some inju y claims ha ha e been iled o classi ied
inco ec ly.
cOnclusIOns
Finnish comme cial ishe s a e an ageing and dimin-
ishing popula ion. Simila o hei pee s in o he coun ies,
hey ha e a high isk o occupa ional inju ies. Special cha -
ac e is ics o he ishing indus y in Finland include plu i-
ac i i y and ishing on ice. As much o he ishing- ela ed
ac i i y happens asho e, i is impo an o ocus on inju y
sou ces in all wo k asks, no only ac ual ishing and ishing
essels. Besides a ali ies om d owning, a majo ocus in
p e en ion should be on educing slips, ips, and alls om
ele a ion, bo h aboa d and asho e. Mi iga ion o e ec s o
slippe iness dese es special a en ion. Fu he , p ope use
o snowmobiles, especially when iding in poo isibili y, o
on ice, should be p omo ed.
Voca ional aining and occupa ional heal h se ices o
ishe s could be ways o p omo e heal h and sa e y. Inc eas-
ing age o comme cial ishe s, as well as some exp essed
opinions, poin ou ha ishing is no a e y a ac i e p o-
ession among young people. This can educe and slow
down he e ec o oca ional aining on mi iga ing inju-
ies. Occupa ional heal h se ices including egula heal h
checks and wo kplace sa e y sc eenings a e manda o y
only o hi ed wo ke s, whe eas he ishe s in Finland a e
mos ly sel -employed. Only 13% o he s udied popula ion
had joined he occupa ional heal h se ices. To be e ec i e,
hese se ices should be designed and o e ed in a way o
a ac signi ican ly mo e ishe s.
Based on inju y s a is ics, comme cial ishing is ec-
ognised as a ela i ely dange ous p o ession in many
s udies. A compa ison o inju y a es be ween di e en
occupa ions and coun ies is di icul due o di e en da a
epo ing p ocedu es and p inciples. Vessel size and ype
a e a common classi ie in epo s dealing wi h inju ies
among ishe s [2, 7, 21]. In Finland, mo e han nine y pe
cen o he boa s used in coas al and o sho e ishing a e
sho e han 12 m. While less han hal o he ishing ela ed
inju ies happened on boa d o while en e ing/exi ing he
boa , i would s ill be bene icial o u he in es iga ions o
eco d he essel leng h and ype along wi h o he de ails
o he inciden .
AcKnOWlEdgEMEnTs
This s udy was suppo ed by The No dic Council o Minis-
e s, and Na u al Resou ces Ins i u e Finland. The Fa me s’
Social Insu ance Ins i u ion (Mela) p o ided he inju y da a
o he s udy.
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