Implications from major accident causation theories to activity-related risk analysis – an application to the Norwegian Atlantic salmon farming industry

The Norwegian Atlantic salmon farming industry is exploring the possibility to run fish farms in more exposed locations. The severe wave and current conditions, irregular wind, sheer remoteness, and limited weather window challenge the operational planning to avoid accidents. The objective of this paper is to present results from applying a generic list of safety-critical parameters to a net cleaning operation to assess their usefulness and relevance in aquaculture. The list was proposed based on implications from major accident causation theories in safety research. The case study demonstrated that the list is a useful operational planning tool to identify activity failure mechanisms that have potential to cause accidents. The results also have implications to how to use barrier principles in aquaculture in general.