Work Stress in Norwegian Trawler Fishermen

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Abstract
Work stress associated with modern trawler fishing was investigated on board two medium-size (298 GRT) Norwegian stern trawlers. The circulatory strain and, indirectly, the work load were assessed by computerised analysis of the continuously recorded (portable tape recorders) heart rate in six subjects working in regular 6 h shifts. The duration of actual work in four deck-hands and a trawl foreman amounted to 33-41 % of the 24 h schedule and taxed, on the average, 30-38 % of their heart rate reserve (equivalent of an oxygen uptake 0·9-1·11 min−1), with peaks up to 80%. The mean work load of a skipper, whose work was sedentary, corresponded to 20% of his heart rate reserve. The regular patterns of activity as well as the average energy expenditure were quite similar in the two trawlers examined and there was a high degree of reproducibility in the circulatory strain in the same subject in different on-duty shifts. The average energy expenditure for a 24 h period as well as the urinary catecholamine excretion rates were lower than in coastal fishermen. It is evident that apart from the long absences from home the work on board a modern trawler can be in many respects quite similar to many work places ashore.