November 30, 2022 — For the second time ever, Alaska went a year with zero fatalities in its commercial fishing industry.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported that there were no operational fatalities from Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022 in Alaska’s commercial fishing industry. An operational fatality is when someone dies during the operation of a vessel at sea, including from causes like drowning, lost vessels or accidents, among other causes. This is only the second time Alaska recorded a year without a death in the commercial fishing sector; the first year was in 2015. However, the fatality rate in the industry has been on a steep downward trend for the last few decades.
Scott Wilwert, the commercial fishing vessel safety coordinator for the U.S. Coast Guard’s 17th District, which covers Alaska, said it seems to be uncommon for an entire Coast Guard district to clock zero fatalities. Some of the other districts, which cover all the coastal waters of the U.S. including the Great Lakes and some inland navigable waterways, may fluctuate, but given the size of Alaska’s fishing industry, going a whole year with no deaths is especially impressive.
“I’m almost 100% sure that nationally we’ve never had a zero year,” he said. “For (the 17th district) to have a zero-fatality year, it’s significant given the number of (full-time fishermen) we have going out there on the water.”
Commercial fishing was historically one of the most dangerous industries in Alaska. As recently as the 1990s, dozens of fishermen would die every year from causes including drowning, machinery accidents or vessel sinkings. From 1980-1988, an average of 31 fishermen died every year. From 1990-1999, there were 210 operational fatalities among Alaska’s commercial fishermen.
Since then, efforts to improve safety procedures, education and fisheries management have helped bring that number down significantly. From 2000-2010, 108 fishermen died, about half the number in the previous decade. From 2011–2020, that figure dropped again to 63. In the last two years, the Coast Guard has recorded only three operational fatalities.