Most workers at fishing ports complain of back or other pains. Their work posture is considered to be the main cause of these pains. Fishing industry work often requires the workers to bend their knees and backs and lean forward. This posture puts a heavy burden on the body. The work posture is affected by workers environment, such as the size of the workspace, equipment being used, or desks and chairs. Workers are forced to have a bad posture when they undertaking tasks.

　

In recent years, methods for evaluating good or bad work postures have been developed, such as the OWAS, the Ovako Working Posture Analysis System method (Stoffert, 1985). It is a practical method for identifying and evaluating working postures. In OWAS procedure, upper limb position, knee angle, torso angle and the amount of load are classified with a digit code. Given a posture code, an action category can be determined and is used as the criteria to evaluate if the working method or workplace needs to be redesigned.

　

Typical work postures at fishing ports are classified as damaging, and something must be done to improve it (Yamashita, 2000; Saeki et al., 2002). Examples are shown in Figure 6. In the future, there is a need to make improvements to equipment and facilities at fishing ports so that the workers no longer need to have bad postures. For example, the situation shown in the photo could be improved if the worker had a desk and chair that was suitable for the task.

　

　

　

Characteristic fishing industry business is carried out in northern and southern Japan, according to the different hydrographic conditions. The left section of Figure 7 shows the operation being undertaken in Hokkaido, in northern Japan. The workers have to take the cultivated scallops out of the baskets at the fishing ports even in snow and while cold winds are blowing. The right section of the figure shows the unloading work for seaweed in Okinawa, in southern Japan. The workers have to do this work in direct sunlight. Workers in the fishing industry often have to work outside under severe climatic conditions such as these. This has a bad effect on the mental and physical health of the workers.

　

　

Several methods for evaluating the influence of cold and heat have been proposed. The Hokkaido Development Bureau has actually tried to evaluate the effect of the cold on workers at fishing ports (Sekiguchi et al., 1997). They used the wind chill index (WCI), as shown in Figure 8. This is a commonly used method for expressing the degree of cold felt by the body, taking into account the outside temperature and wind speed. Subjective data has also been collected regarding the degree of cold that fishermen can withstand. By comparing these two sets of data, improvement objectives for the WCI values have been set. In order to achieve these improvements, windbreak walls with roofs were designed and built, as shown in Figure 9. These insulate the workers from the snow and wind, and contribute to making the work more comfortable.

　

The evaluation of heat is also an important topic. This is because high temperatures not only affect the working environment, but also affect the freshness of the fish catch. Recently, paving the top surface of quay walls is being promoted. However, direct sunlight greatly increases the temperature of concrete and asphalt, up to as high as 57℃elsius. Therefore, the workers have to cope with these high temperatures. There is a need to evaluate and make improvements in this area.

　

　

　

　

In this section, fishing work is discussed from different viewpoints.

　

In Japan, most office and factory workers spend over an hour traveling between their home and workplace. Their working hours are rigid, and it is almost impossible for them to return home during working hours. However, as shown in Figure 10, most Japanese fishing ports are located near villages. There is no clear borderline between the living space and workplace. Therefore, the workers are able to return home briefly during their working hours, and do some housework, such as preparing meals, or doing the laundry. In other words, it is easy for them to carry out their work and domestic life.

　

Also, husbands and wives often work together, and sometimes friends living nearby can drop in to the fishing port. They can exchange information about their life, or share jokes while working. In this way, the workers are able to carry out even monotonous tasks in a relaxed frame of mind.

　

When evaluating the working environment in the fishing industry, there is a need to make suitable consideration of the relationship with this type of lifestyle. This actual evaluation is a topic for future consideration.

　

　

　

There is a need to implement improvements in the working environment at fishing ports. Therefore, there is a need for a suitable evaluation system, and the setting of objectives that need to be achieved. Also, a management system is required to make sure the improvements are made, according to the evaluation. Government departments and researchers should set up this system, evaluate the quality of the workspace at fishing ports, and assist with the introduction of improvements. This system must reflect the characteristics of the fishing industry labor. The relationship with labor and overall lifestyles is a topic that should be addressed in the future.

　

　

The authors would like to acknowledge Professor Takeo Kondo of Nihon University, Mr. Heon Chol Park and Ms. Mio Anai for their assistance in the research.

　

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Japan Rural Information System Association. 2001. Safe and comfortable farm work (Videotape). Tokyo: Rural Culture Association.

Joint Industrial Safety Council. Sweden/ILO. 1987. Safety, Health and Working Conditions: A training manual. Stockholm: Prevent.

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 1996. A guidebook for comfortable farmwork-2 (In Japanese).

Karaki, S. 1993. Umi-to-jinsei (The sea and people's lives) (in Japanese) Chiba: Ron-shobo.

　

Saeki, K., H.C. Park, M. Anai, S. Akeda, N. Takaki and T. Kondo. 2002. Study on fishermen's posture in sorting and repairing work. Proceedings of Annual Conference of the Japanese Society of Fisheries Engineering (in Japanese), 169-172.

　

Sekiguchi, K., S. Akeda, N. Umezawa, S. Hashimoto and T. Tanaka. 1997. Study on design of wind barrier for fishing ports, Proceedings of Cold Region Technology Conference '97 (in Japanese), 93-100.

　

Stoffert, G. 1985. Analyse und Einstufung von Korperhaltungen bei der Arbeit nach der OWAS-Methode. Zeitschnft fur Arbeitwissenschaft, 1, 31-38.

Takaki, N. and K. Saeki. 2001. Researching and evaluation methods of working environment at the fishing ports. Bulletin of Fisheries Research Agency (in Japanese), No.1, 39-57.

　

Yamashita, N. 2000. Research on the improvement of fishing port and vessels by the analysis of work process and work load in a coastal fishery. Report of The Japanese Institute of Technology on Fishing Ports and Communities (in Japanese).