During 1980-1989, Alaska had the highest work-related fatality rate of any state in the nation, with a rate of 34.8 deaths per 100,000 workers per year compared to the average U.S. rate of 7 deaths per 100,000 workers per year.
NIOSH’s Alaska Pacific Office has released a new safety video highlighting the use of personal flotation devices as a critical tool in preventing deaths from rapid capsizing and man overboard events in commercial fishing.
On the night of June 26, 2010 the fishing vessel Paul Revere, a salmon setnet skiff, capsized while setting their gear in preparation for the start of fishing season. The skipper and her two crew members were thrown in the waters of Bristol Bay near South Naknek, AK.