320
decline in Japan? The author considers that there
are three main factors: reduced fi sh catches,
slumping fi sh prices, and poor work environments. Until the 1980s, the fi shery was a worthwhile occupation in Japan, despite the hard work,
because the fi shermen were able to catch enough
fi sh and to sell them at acceptable prices. However,
both the catches and the prices have declined
since the 1990s. Although the causes are unclear,
these declines may be related to the decrease in
fi sheries resources due to overfi shing and to economic recessions. Moreover, the work environment has remained poor. Even if fi shermen engage
in hard work, they cannot catch enough fi sh and
sell them at acceptable prices; thus, the occupation has become less appealing in Japan.
To revive the fi shery in Japan as a healthy occupation under the current situation, one in which
fi shermen’s incomes will not increase in the short
term, the work environments must be improved by
means of ergonomic labor-saving techniques.
Namely, it is important to restore fi shermen’s work
environments to reasonable and healthy conditions
by means of the so-called KAIZEN principle.
However, fi shermen cannot be expected to use systematic methods to evaluate and improve their
work environments by themselves in the small
fi shery management bodies that occupy the majority of the fi shery of Japan. Nonetheless, third parties can support fi shermen by conducting objective
investigations of their work environments and then
suggesting effective improvement policies.
Such improvement of the fi shery work environment can occur at various levels. For instance,
there are infrequent but fatal or injurious accidents
such as a ship capsizing or a fi sherman falling
from the ship or getting caught in machines, and
there are other ongoing physical symptoms in
daily work caused by other factors. There are also
emotional problems in workplaces, such as those
that occur in the context of human relationships.
The goal of this research was to address the
causes of musculoskeletal symptoms in daily
work because little is known about the specifi c
infl uence of fi shery work on fi shermen’s bodies
in relation to the various fi shing methods in
Japan. In other words, specifi c fi shery work has
been scarcely explored scientifi cally. As various
fi shing boats and methods are accompanied by
differing work environments and methods, the
needs of each and the plans for improvement will
vary accordingly. Consequently, we should fi rst
understand what happens at the sites of fi shery
work through the accumulation of case studies.
In the current study, several cases of small
trawl fi shery, a representative coastal fi shery in
Japan, were investigated. The characteristics of
the work sites were defi ned quantitatively, and
the results are discussed with respect to possible
approaches to improving the work environment.
2
Material and Method
The small trawl fi shery is that in which relatively
small fi shing boats with gross tonnages of less
than 15 tonnes are used. Several types of fi shing
gear are used in the small trawl fi shery: Danish
seine, beam trawl, dredge, and otter trawl. The
fi sh catch per year by the small trawl fi shery in
Japan remained at around 0.4–0.5 million tonnes
during the last decade, corresponding to 7–9 % of
the total annual fi sh catch in Japan (Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 2014 ). The
small trawl fi shery is distributed widely over
most coastal prefectures. In this study, the author
investigated the actual work of four small trawl
fi shing boats from across Japan, operating in
Aichi, Chiba, Hiroshima, and Osaka prefectures
(the individual case studies are described in
Takahashi 2009 , 2013a , b ; Takahashi et al. 2012 ).
In each investigation, the fi shing operation
was recorded during a fi shing trip using waterproof video cameras attached to the boat to
understand and quantify the characteristics of
fi shery work. It is crucial to identify timeconsuming tasks and physically excessive tasks
in order to investigate how to improve them.
Accordingly, two analyses were carried out using
the recorded video images to quantify the time
required for and physical burden of each
representative task.
First, the time series of the tasks performed on
each boat during a fi shing trip were arranged, and
then the proportion of the whole navigation time
required for each representative task was determined.
Second, the physical burden of the fi sh- sorting task,
judged as the most time-consuming task by the time
H. Takahashi
decline in Japan? The author considers that there
are three main factors: reduced fi sh catches,
slumping fi sh prices, and poor work environments. Until the 1980s, the fi shery was a worthwhile occupation in Japan, despite the hard work,
because the fi shermen were able to catch enough
fi sh and to sell them at acceptable prices. However,
both the catches and the prices have declined
since the 1990s. Although the causes are unclear,
these declines may be related to the decrease in
fi sheries resources due to overfi shing and to economic recessions. Moreover, the work environment has remained poor. Even if fi shermen engage
in hard work, they cannot catch enough fi sh and
sell them at acceptable prices; thus, the occupation has become less appealing in Japan.
To revive the fi shery in Japan as a healthy occupation under the current situation, one in which
fi shermen’s incomes will not increase in the short
term, the work environments must be improved by
means of ergonomic labor-saving techniques.
Namely, it is important to restore fi shermen’s work
environments to reasonable and healthy conditions
by means of the so-called KAIZEN principle.
However, fi shermen cannot be expected to use systematic methods to evaluate and improve their
work environments by themselves in the small
fi shery management bodies that occupy the majority of the fi shery of Japan. Nonetheless, third parties can support fi shermen by conducting objective
investigations of their work environments and then
suggesting effective improvement policies.
Such improvement of the fi shery work environment can occur at various levels. For instance,
there are infrequent but fatal or injurious accidents
such as a ship capsizing or a fi sherman falling
from the ship or getting caught in machines, and
there are other ongoing physical symptoms in
daily work caused by other factors. There are also
emotional problems in workplaces, such as those
that occur in the context of human relationships.
The goal of this research was to address the
causes of musculoskeletal symptoms in daily
work because little is known about the specifi c
infl uence of fi shery work on fi shermen’s bodies
in relation to the various fi shing methods in
Japan. In other words, specifi c fi shery work has
been scarcely explored scientifi cally. As various
fi shing boats and methods are accompanied by
differing work environments and methods, the
needs of each and the plans for improvement will
vary accordingly. Consequently, we should fi rst
understand what happens at the sites of fi shery
work through the accumulation of case studies.
In the current study, several cases of small
trawl fi shery, a representative coastal fi shery in
Japan, were investigated. The characteristics of
the work sites were defi ned quantitatively, and
the results are discussed with respect to possible
approaches to improving the work environment.
2
Material and Method
The small trawl fi shery is that in which relatively
small fi shing boats with gross tonnages of less
than 15 tonnes are used. Several types of fi shing
gear are used in the small trawl fi shery: Danish
seine, beam trawl, dredge, and otter trawl. The
fi sh catch per year by the small trawl fi shery in
Japan remained at around 0.4–0.5 million tonnes
during the last decade, corresponding to 7–9 % of
the total annual fi sh catch in Japan (Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 2014 ). The
small trawl fi shery is distributed widely over
most coastal prefectures. In this study, the author
investigated the actual work of four small trawl
fi shing boats from across Japan, operating in
Aichi, Chiba, Hiroshima, and Osaka prefectures
(the individual case studies are described in
Takahashi 2009 , 2013a , b ; Takahashi et al. 2012 ).
In each investigation, the fi shing operation
was recorded during a fi shing trip using waterproof video cameras attached to the boat to
understand and quantify the characteristics of
fi shery work. It is crucial to identify timeconsuming tasks and physically excessive tasks
in order to investigate how to improve them.
Accordingly, two analyses were carried out using
the recorded video images to quantify the time
required for and physical burden of each
representative task.
First, the time series of the tasks performed on
each boat during a fi shing trip were arranged, and
then the proportion of the whole navigation time
required for each representative task was determined.
Second, the physical burden of the fi sh- sorting task,
judged as the most time-consuming task by the time
H. Takahashi