The status of risk assessments in Norwegian fish farming

Abstract

The oceans will become the major contributor to the needed increase in global food production towards 2050. The fish farming industry is characterised by operations that are susceptible to changing weather, wind and currents, and face challenges when it comes to safety for fish and personnel. Previous research and accident analyses reveal a lack of understanding of risk factors during aquaculture operations. The objective of the paper is primarily to describe the status for risk assessments practices in the Norwegian fish farming industry according to the regulatory requirements. To improve the safety level at workplaces, the operators need to be aware of the safety challenges in their working environment. A practical approach to risk assessments based on preliminary hazard analysis is presented in this paper. This approach has been developed in cooperation with the aquaculture industry and has been evaluated in a series of workshops involving several operators with good results.

A Framework Based on a Systems Approach to Developing Safety Indicators in Fish Farming

“…For example, there is little use of safety indicators in the industry, except for Lost Time Injuries (LTI), and thus the concept of monitoring and documenting information regarding safety is not as common as in other industries where safety work is more mature. There is now a drive, however, towards developing methods and tools to enhance safety beyond the minimum required to comply with regulations [47]. The framework for identifying indicators in this paper aims to be a contribution to this development.…”

“…Safety management in fish farming has mainly focused on complying with regulations [47]. For example, there is little use of safety indicators in the industry, except for Lost Time Injuries (LTI), and thus the concept of monitoring and documenting information regarding safety is not as common as in other industries where safety work is more mature.…”

“…In fish farming, there is a wide range of accidents and hazards, or safety aspects, which could be relevant to monitor, e.g., food safety, technical safety of fish farms related to escapes, safety in design of work vessels, and health and safety of personnel [47]. The safety aspects could also potentially influence each other.…”

“…They provide the regulations that the fish farmers have to follow and they perform inspections to ensure conformity. Examples of safety relevant regulations can be found in Holmen, Utne [47]. Nevertheless, the focus should be on the fish farm organization and the components of the system to be analyzed should be within the organization's reach to alter.…”

Safety climate and compliance in the Norwegian aquaculture industry—employees’ perceptions at different company levels

“…Fish farmers often use boats and cranes in their work, but increasingly rely on specialized service vessel crews to perform tasks such as mooring operations and delousing. The safety for fish, material assets and personnel is regulated by an extensive set of statutory requirements (Holmen et al, 2017b), which are audited by five different regulatory authorities (Holmen et al, 2017c).…”