Previous studies have shown that fish sorting is the most time-consuming task in coastal trawl fishing, and that the task is often performed in harmful work postures. Thus, the process of sorting fish in this fishery should be improved. In this study, a workbench to improve posture during fish sorting was tested on a small trawler operating from a local fishing port in Aichi Prefecture. The posture of the fishermen's upper body improved, from stooped to upright, and the proportion of suitable postures increased from 5–8% to 82–96%. No obvious changes were observed in the efficiency of fish sorting when using the workbench. These results demonstrate that introducing a workbench into conventional fish sorting is a valid way to improve the environment for coastal trawl fishery workers.
