Measuring health conditions and behaviours in fishing industry participants and fishing communities using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS)

We estimate physical health, mental health, and healthcare access conditions and behaviours among fishing industry participants from a public health survey in the United States. Human well-being is an increasingly important consideration in ecosystem models and fishery management. We use a standardized public health survey, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, to estimate health-related aspects of well-being in fishing industry participants (including harvest, processing, and wholesaling sectors) in Washington state and compare to reference populations. We find that physical and mental health outcomes and healthcare access among fishing industry participants are broadly similar to other populations. However, fishing industry participants are more frequently affected by conditions that limit activity and tend to engage in potentially unhealthy behaviour at higher rates. Our work fills a gap on health-related well-being outcomes in the human dimensions of fisheries and demonstrates the role that public health surveys can play in the study of well-being in fishing communities.