The Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association (NL-FHSA) is adding another resource to its team this year that will be boots on the ground throughout the province.
“It’s going to be a big year for us,” said Craig Parsons, executive director of the NL-FHSA.
“We’re in the process now of developing a program for safety advocates, so in the fall, we’re hoping by September, October, to identify 15 to 20 fish harvesters around the province who can be advocates. They won’t work full time but can be available off season to us if needed to go out and help other harvesters with compliance with their vessel or safe practices, show them how to develop safe working procedures so that’s a big one this year, training safety advocates,” said Parsons.
Advocates will be paid for their time, said Parsons, adding if anyone is interested, they can contact him at cparsons@nlfhsa.com.
“The other thing this year, fishers look to Transport Canada as the regulator, which it is for most vessel and crew, but the provincial Department of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) has requirements as well so we’re putting on a bit of a push this year on educating harvesters on requirements under OHS regulations in the province,” added Parsons.
The NL-FHSA has had good uptake to the free Fishing Vessel Safety Designate Program it launched in December 2023, with more than 700 vessels completing the training so far.
“Under provincial legislation, every business is required to have an OHS representative or designate, so we went to work to develop a fishing vessel safety designate to be tailor made for the fishing industry in N.L.,” explained Parsons.
“So, we developed the program. It takes all the provincial requirements such as safe working procedures, active investigations, safety hazard recognition, disability management and workers compensation. It’s an online program. It takes about six hours to complete.”
Parsons said every fishing vessel is required to have a designate, noting there are about 3,000 fishing vessels in N.L.
The NL-FHSA has been operational since 2012. The non-profit association is governed by a 15-member board of directors representing harvesters throughout the province and is supported by an advisory committee which includes a number of federal and provincial government agencies.
“Fish harvesters are very engaged as members of the board representing the different fleet sectors,” said Parsons.
Since being formed, the association has put a lot of work into helping fish harvesters create a safety culture and making them aware of safety issues aboard their vessels, said Parsons.
“We’ve seen a vast improvement in fish harvesters working to make sure they’ve engaged best fishing practices and to make sure they are meeting the necessary requirements so the vessel can be safe, whether it be requirements under Transport Canada or just fish harvesters going beyond. In some cases, AED machines are being put on vessels. Harvesters are using emergency position-indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs) on very small vessels that might not be required to have one, said Parsons.
He added that the association is engaged in educating harvesters about work responsibilities under provincial and federal legislation and to ensure they have the tools they need. “They are provided with log books, safe work procedures, we educate them what the regulations are, we do go around and have community meetings, but it’s more about educating them.”
Over the years, Parsons said he’s seen a great increase in the use of PFDs by fish harvesters. “They try and find which one works for them, which one is most comfortable depending on which fishery you’re involved in. There are traditional PFDs, the inflatable ones are certainly becoming more popular for sure. I still think we have a long way to go to get harvesters wearing PFDs, but we’ve certainly come a long way.”
Personal locator beacons (PLBs) are also becoming more popular. “We started a project three years ago with the FFAW, Fisheries Resource Centre and certification board and we gave out over 2,000 PLBs to fish harvesters in N.L. In the beginning they were for sale at a reduced price and we seen quite an uptake and more recently if you completed our fishing vessel safe planning program you get a free PLB,” said Parsons.
The Marine Institute has recently completed a survey to evaluate the use of PFDs and PLBs by fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador. Parsons said the survey results and next steps in the research project will likely be presented at a conference in the fall.
The NL-FHSA will also be holding its annual safety symposium in the fall. The symposium will be held in St. John’s on Oct. 22. Parsons said guest speakers are brought in for the one-day event. This year the NL-FHSA will be partnering with Workplace NL to present the symposium.
