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 This situation is further complicated by the hazards associated 

 with the wide array of processes used in several thousand 

 businesses, many of which are small or old. The seafood 

 industry is characterized by small, fragmented operations that 

 are sized in reference to anticipated benefits and to the 

 significant, uncontrollable economic risks involved in that 

 business. The seasonal nature of the industry can affect 

 worker skills and practices relating to seafood safety, while 

 older facilities and equipment can be more difficult to 

 maintain for adequate sanitation, and proper processing and 

 storage temperatures. 



In addition, several hundred vessels are seagoing processing 

 factories, many of which operate in remote waters. For 

 regulators, ships that process at sea can be difficult and 

 expensive to reach while they are operating, and individual 

 inspectors face hazards such as ship-to-ship transfers on the 

 high seas. 



Seafood can come from a significant recreational harvest, some 

 of which finds its way into commercial channels. Thus, 

 recreational fishing can have a bearing on the safety of 

 coamercial seafood if it occurs in waters that are closed to 

 fishing or if the catch is mishandled. 



