POLICY BRIEF article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Aquatic Foods
Climate change and the right to refuse hazardous fishing work
Provisionally accepted
- Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, United States
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• Climate change is worsening occupational safety and health risks for fishers • Few legal frameworks adequately protect fishers' right to refuse hazardous work • Migrant fishers are more vulnerable to climate risks since immigration restrictions significantly limit their ability to refuse hazardous work • Codifying the right to refuse hazardous work in national laws and collective bargaining agreements; integrating weather forecasting and Early Warning Systems into risk assessments, preparedness and response measures, and inspections; and expanding training and awareness are all necessary to prevent climate change from further eroding fundamental labor rights at sea
Keywords: Climate Change, Hazardous work, Labor rights, occupational safety & health (OS&H), Severe weather
Received: 29 Jul 2025; Accepted: 25 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Purnamasari and Decker Sparks. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jessica L. Decker Sparks
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.