Abstract
In Japan, the accident rate among fishery workers is eight times higher than that for workers in all other
industries. The trawl fishery, which had one of the highest rates of work accidents in the fishing industry, was
chosen as the subject of the present study. The ergonomic conditions of the working environment onboard
trawlers were examined by analyzing the motion of workers.
To evaluate the relative position between the worker and fishing implements, we analyzed the moving line
and the working position during fishing operations. The posture of workers was measured to calculate a value for
the pain index number.
The moving line of the worker walking on the net was observed, and it became clear that the range of movement
for the workers was wide. Walking on the net is a dangerous behavior under heavy rolling motion because
workers are easily thrown overboard. Various unnatural postures related to 'inclination' were observed during
fish selection and putting fish into boxes. The working posture during selection was evaluated by the pain index
number. For workers on an 80-GT trawler, the pain index number attained five because fish was placed directly
on the floor. If the trawler was equipped with a belt conveyer, the worker would select the fish in a standing
position. We proposed an index to reduce work accidents at the fishery.
