Dino Drudi
Fishing has consistently ranked as the most deadly occupation since 1992, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics began publishing fatality rates by occupation. Workers in this occupation face unique life-threatening hazards--vessel casualties, falling overboard, and diving incidents. Fishing in cold waters is inherently riskier because of hypothermia (during the 1992-96 period, Alaska accounted for 29 percent of all fishing fatalities), and shellfishing is riskier than finfishing. Over a theoretical 45-year fishing career, there would be 61 fatalities per 1,000 workers employed in this occupation.