In recent years, the industry has been ranked as the most dangerous in the country by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. NTSB, in its recommendations to the Coast Guard commandant, cites several high-profile accidents, including the 2008 sinking of the Katmai off Alaska's Aleutian Islands in which five crew members died and two others were never found.
NTSB has said that having watertight doors left open on the overloaded fishing vessel during a storm likely caused the ship to sink.
NTSB is making five recommendations to the Coast Guard, including requiring that each person on the deck of a commercial fishing vessel wear a flotation aid.
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