Occupational asthma and allergy in snow crab processing in Newfoundland and Labrador

Abstract A sex-asymmetric downward shift in size-at-terminal-molt has recently occurred in males in some portions of the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) snow crab stock range, a first known occurrence for such processes in snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) stocks. This study examines plausible factors promoting the shift in size-at-terminal-molt [synonymous with size-at-maturity (SaM)] including individual size, temperature, population density, and sex ratio. Analyses highlight expanse of cold water and large male density as being significant predictors of molt-type outcomes. A confluence of cold conditions and low density of large males promoted the SaM shift. In turn, the low male density was associated with recently elevated fishery exploitation rates under quota-controlled management. It remains unknown the extent to which the reduction in terminal size reflects a phenotypic vs. genotypic process. Factors affecting skip-molting in male snow crab are investigated, and we find that skip-molting occurs most frequently under extreme cold and high population density conditions. Potential complications arising from altered growth dynamics are discussed. Overall, the results advance knowledge on intraspecific competition processes within snow crab populations and inform fisheries management systems that male-only harvest strategies do not provide full protection from biological harm to aquatic resources through fishing.

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Harvesting strategies during a forecasted decline in the Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab fishery

Fisheries Research ◽

10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105707 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 232 ◽

pp. 105707 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Darrell R.J. Mullowney ◽

Krista D. Baker ◽

Eric J. Pedersen

Keyword(s):

Newfoundland And Labrador ◽

Snow Crab

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Occupational asthma and allergy to sevoflurane and isoflurane in anaesthetic staff

Allergy ◽

10.1111/j.1398-9995.2006.01215.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 61 (12) ◽

pp. 1485-1486 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

A. D. Vellore ◽

V. J. Drought ◽

D. Sherwood-Jones ◽

B. Tunnicliffe ◽

V. C. Moore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Occupational Asthma ◽

Anaesthetic Staff ◽

Asthma And Allergy

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123 IgE sensitization in snow-crab processing workers with occupational asthma(OA)

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology ◽

10.1016/0091-6749(85)90258-1 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 75 (1) ◽

pp. 135 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M MCCANTS ◽

S LEHRER ◽

F FOREST ◽

J MALO ◽

A CARTIER

Keyword(s):

Occupational Asthma ◽

Snow Crab

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Evaluating potential biodegradable twines for use in the snow crab fishery off Newfoundland and Labrador

Fisheries Research ◽

10.1016/j.fishres.2014.06.007 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 161 ◽

pp. 21-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Paul D. Winger ◽

George Legge ◽

Christopher Batten ◽

Georgina Bishop

Keyword(s):

Newfoundland And Labrador ◽

Snow Crab

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Rhino Conjunctivitis and Asthma Among Seafood Processing Workers in Greenland. A Cross-Sectional Study

Frontiers in Allergy ◽

10.3389/falgy.2021.747011 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Birgitte Hamann Laustsen ◽

Øyvind Omland ◽

Else Toft Würtz ◽

Torben Sigsgaard ◽

Niels E. Ebbehøj ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care Professionals ◽

Occupational Asthma ◽

Occupational Diseases ◽

Considerable Proportion ◽

Snow Crab ◽

Fish Parasite ◽

Processing Industry ◽

Industrial Sectors ◽

Seafood Processing ◽

Rhino Conjunctivitis

Introduction: The fishing- and the seafood processing industries are the largest industrial sectors in Greenland. Despite this, only a few cases of occupational diseases in this industry have been reported to the Danish Labor Market Insurance. Occupational asthma and allergy are well-known occupational diseases in the seafood processing industry worldwide and underreporting of occupational diseases in Greenland is suspected.Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine the associations between job exposures and occupational asthma and rhino conjunctivitis in workers in the Greenlandic seafood processing industry and to compare the prevalence of sensitization by type and degree of exposure to snow crab, shrimp, fish, and the fish parasite, Anisakis simplex.Methods: Data from 382 Greenlandic seafood processing workers were collected during 2016–2018. Data included questionnaire answers, lung function measurements, skin prick tests, and blood samples with ImmunoCAP. For all analyses, p < 0.05 was considered the level of significance.Results: 5.5% of the workers had occupational asthma and 4.6% had occupational rhino conjunctivitis. A large proportion of the workers were sensitized to allergens specific to the workplace; 18.1% to snow crab, 13.6% to shrimp, 1.4% to fish, and 32.6% to the fish parasite, A. simplex. We found a dose-response relationship between the risk of being sensitized to snow crab and A. simplex and years of exposure to the allergens in the seafood processing industry.Conclusion: This study showed that a considerable proportion of workers in the Greenlandic seafood processing industry had occupational asthma and rhino conjunctivitis. Additionally, the study showed high sensitization levels toward snow crab, shrimp, and the fish parasite, A. simplex. This supports the hypothesis of a considerable degree of underreporting of occupational allergic airway disease in the Greenlandic seafood processing industry. Prospectively, it is important to inform workers, leaders, and health care professionals of the health problems and the law on worker's compensation, and to initiate preventive actions at factory and trawler level.

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Hard to Manage? Dynamics of Soft-Shell Crab in the Newfoundland and Labrador Snow Crab Fishery

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.591496 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Darrell R.J. Mullowney ◽

Krista D. Baker ◽

Julia R. Pantin

Keyword(s):

Newfoundland And Labrador ◽

Best Practice ◽

Early Spring ◽

Warm Water ◽

Practice Management ◽

Optimal Time ◽

Snow Crab ◽

Harvest Rate ◽

Soft Shell ◽

June July

Capture of recently molted soft-shell crab in the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) fishery is undesirable due to resource wastage associated with low meat yield and supposed high mortality rates upon discard. This study is intended to formalize best-practice management advice for avoidance of soft-shell crab in the fishery. The study investigates factors affecting soft-shell incidence in the catch across a large geographic stock range encompassing dynamic habitat and contrasting harvest rate strategies. The results demonstrate an interaction between seasonality and harvest rate in governing soft-shell crab levels in the fishery. Greatest potential for high soft-shell incidence occurs in late-spring or summer (June–July) fisheries in warm water populations subjected to heavy fishing pressure, with warm water populations shown to be associated with earlier molting periods. The study concludes that the optimal time to harvest snow crab is during winter or early spring, and advises that wherever winter or early spring fisheries are not possible, a best-practice management strategy is to minimize wastage by maintaining a strong residual biomass of large hard-shell males in the population at all times. This strategy is easily enabled by consistent application of low exploitation rates.

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