A Review on the Ergonomic Literature about the Musculoskeletal Problems in Fishing

Objective: This study aims to review the ergonomic literature about the musculoskeletal problems in fishing, and to suggest directions of further studies. Background: Until the 1960s, fishing was one of the dominant industries in the economy of Korea, but nowadays it is of little importance. However, the fishing industry should be sustained and the health of the people involved in the industry should be maintained and enhanced. Method: The peer-reviewed articles from international and domestic academic journals published after year 2000 were searched using Web of Science, Google Scholar, DBPia and KISS. The literature was searched by the keywords of "fishing", "fishery", "fishermen", "musculoskeletal", "ergonomic", "occupational", "injury", "health", and their combinations. Results: 20 international articles were analyzed. They could be classified into the descriptive studies on problem identification (8 articles, 40%), biomechanical or quantitative studies (4 articles, 20%), studies on the musculoskeletal symptoms (4 articles, 20%), development of intervention (2 articles, 10%), and literature review (2 articles, 10%) Only 2 domestic articles were found. Conclusion: It was confirmed that the musculoskeletal problems in fishing are prevalent and severe. More studies are expected on the ergonomic design of fishing vessels and machines/tools used in fishing work. Application: The results will be applied to guide the direction of further ergonomic research to lead the development of fishing industry.