Occupational Safety and Health in New Salmon Farming Concepts

Employees in fish farming have exposed work environments, and salmon farming is one of the most accident-prone industries in Norway. Currently, new production concepts are being introduced. Concepts for the seawater phase are becoming more diverse, expanding from mostly open netpens along the coast, to include new designs such as semi-closed and submerged units for coastal and offshore sites as well as production on land. Along with new technologies, working conditions are transformed. The objective of this article is to study occupational safety and health (OSH) in new salmon farming concepts. The new concepts involve technologies that reduce manual labor, shield or remove humans from high energies or hazards. When routine operations become remotely controlled, personnel are removed from hazards, but other risks related to monitoring tasks may increase. Also, larger operations still require personnel and involve hazards and increase uncertainty. At the new salmon farming concepts in general, risks can potentially increase, despite improved safety management: This study shows how large investments and new technologies can reduce some hazards, but also lead to new organizing and deskilling, that may shift the entire foundation for decision making and safety management.

Keywords: Safety, OSH, OHS, Salmon farming, Aquaculture, Workplaces, Technology.