Helping Gulf Shrimpers Adopt Safety Measures: Importance of Partnerships and Research to Practice

ABSTRACT

Commercial fishing continues to be a dangerous line of work. There are many hazards and the work is complex, even on a small scale. Along the United States Gulf Coast, the make-up of the commercial fishing population is diverse, with many Vietnamese shrimpers. Cultural barriers can interfere with critical communication and with receptivity to necessary safety training. In the course of studying these factors, it became apparent that language was a significant barrier among Vietnamese shrimp fishermen learning sound signals and making Mayday calls, potentially contributing to adverse events. This article is a qualitative description of a pilot project in response to this observation and aimed at the development of a model simulating the bridge of a commercial fishing vessel (including horn blast and radio). The model is used to improve knowledge and skills of the fishermen by providing instruction in Vietnamese. As a Mayday call must be made in English, instructional aids are provided to assist fishermen in the exercise. This example of research to practice (r2p) demonstrates how research findings may enhance acquisition of safety knowledge and skills through development of these types of models as well sustainable instructional tools like the multi-lingual interactive CD described here. It further illustrates the importance of partnerships in the design and delivery of workplace safety training interventions. The model, instructional aids, and CD are timely as they coincide with new regulation which mandates certification of these competencies or skills.

Keywords:

• Fishing vessels
• navigation
• training
• safety
• shrimp
• Vietnamese
• Mayday
• simulation
• research
• interactive CD

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the USCG for steadfast support and assistance with this project including James Elliott, Robert Perkins, and William Evert.