Federal health officials have rescinded all layoffs at the workplace safety agency critical to the health and safety of harvesters in the commercial fishing industry. 

The recent announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services was heralded by the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA). 

"AMSEA's work is vitally important to the safety of America's commercial fishermen, and AMSEA depends on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for resources critical to that work," said Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association, in AMSEA's online blog of Jan. 14. 

AMSEA has, for years, relied on the U.S. Coast Guard/NIOSH Fishing Safety Research and Training Grant Program for funds for programs that have trained thousands of commercial fishermen, marines, and youths in vessel safety, first aid/CPR, cold water survival, firefighting, and emergency procedures, often including U.S. Coast Guard certification. 

In 2024 alone, AMSEA, which is based in Sitka, Alaska, trained 2,612 people in marine safety and boating safety, said Leann Cyr, executive director of AMSEA.

The list included training 34 instructors, 960 commercial fishermen as drill conductors, 266 others in fishing vessel safety, and 753 youths in 66 communities nationwide, including 25 communities in Alaska, Cyr said in an interview with National Fisherman on Feb. 2. 

In 2026, AMSEA plans to train 300 drill conductor students in Alaska, plus instructor training courses and online fishing industry ergonomics, she said. Also on the agenda are mariner first aid courses for some 200 fishermen in Alaska and the West Coast. 

For the Southeast U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico, AMSEA plans include 8 drill instructor classes and other fishing vessel safety courses. On the West Coast, including Washington, Oregon, and California, AMSEA plans include drill conductor and instructor training, she said. 

The classes have been generally free for commercial fishermen or provided at a small cost. 

Noah Oppenheim, coordinator of the Fishing Communities Coalition, cited the reinstatement of key staff at NIOSH's Center for Marine Safety and Health Studies and the Fishing Safety Research and Training Grant Program "as an important step for commercial fishing safety nationwide. Commercial fishing safety programs across the country depend on the expertise and resources these agencies deliver," he said.

"NIOSH has been a cornerstone of commercial fishing safety in the United States since the 1990s," AMSEA said in a blog on Jan. 14 announcing the reinstatement of hundreds of NIOSH staff. "Their work helps fishermen return home safely, reduces injuries at sea, and lowers the need for costly and dangerous search and rescue operations for our U.S. Coast Guard."

After the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent reduction-in-force notes to some 1,000 employees at NIOSH last April AMSEA, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Maddie Lightsey of Alaska Boats & Permits sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., citing the critical importance of NIOSH's work, noting that since NIOSH's prevention programs began the commercial fishing fatalities have been reduced by over 80 percent. 

"From a financial perspective, the return on investment on this funding annually is millions of dollars to one dollar spent," the letter said. "The proven reduction in fatalities, injuries, and vessel disasters from marine safety training and research saves the USCG millions annually in expensive rescue operations and saves the U.S. millions in other expenses for work-related injury and death." 

NIOSH safety programs and research are also critical to the logging, mining, and other professions, including firefighters. 

HHS press secretary Emily Hilliard, who announced the rescinding of the NIOSH layoffs, said that under Kennedy's leadership, "the nation's critical public health functions remain intact and effective."