The human cost of the blue economy: a call for ımproved workplace safety based on occupational injuries and fatalities in the Turkish seafood ındustry, 2013-2023.

چکیده اصلی

PURPOSE: This study aims to provide a quantitative assessment of key occupational health and safety indicators-incident rate (IR), temporary incapacity rate (TIR), and fatality rate (FR)-in the Turkish seafood industry and to compare three main subsectors: fisheries, aquaculture, processing, for the period 2013-2023. METHODS: Data sources were yearbooks of Work Accidents and Occupational Diseases Statistics and Insured and Workplace Statistics published by the Social Security Institution of the Turkish Republic, along with employment data for the processing sector from the OECD database. Spearman's rank correlation analysis was applied to examine relationships among production, employment, occupational injuries, and temporary incapacity days. Differences between fisheries and aquaculture in production per worker were tested using the Mann-Whitney U test, while the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to identify statistically significant differences (p = 0.05) among subsectors. RESULTS: A total of 18,250 occupational injuries, 35 fatalities, and 95,921 temporary incapacity days were reported in the Turkish seafood industry. Most injuries occurred in the processing sector, whereas nearly half of all fatalities were recorded in aquaculture. Incident rates ranged from 87.9 (fisheries, 2017) to 33,924.2 (processing, 2021). Despite employing fewer workers, aquaculture and processing accounted for a higher number of injuries and fatalities than fisheries. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that the processing sector represents the highest risk in terms of temporary incapacity and fatality rates. Improving reporting practices and establishing a structured data collection framework are essential for enhancing occupational safety and preventing future injuries in the Turkish seafood industry. In addition, strengthening regulatory frameworks, increasing workplace inspections, and ensuring effective enforcement of safety standards are critical to reducing injury and fatality rates across all subsectors.

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