PFDs That Work: Dungeness Crabbers

Falling overboard is the second leading cause of death among commercial fishermen nationwide. Of the 182 fishermen who died from falls overboard between 2000 and 2011 NONE of them were wearing a personal flotation device (PFD). Researchers from the University of Washington, Oregon Health Science University and the NIOSH Alaska Pacific Office conducted an evaluation with commercial Dungeness crab fishermen in Oregon to rate the comfort and acceptability of five modern personal flotation devices (PFDs). Fifty fishermen were asked to evaluate a PFD for one month while working on deck so that wearable PFDs could be identified. This document shows which PFDs were preferred by Dungeness crabbers.