A lot of ship-board accidents, including people falling overboard, could be prevented if safe work practices were in force.
According to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB), regulations place the responsibility on the authorized representative to develop procedures for the safe operation of the vessel.
“The resulting safe work practices help ensure that masters and crew members have the knowledge, as well as the necessary information to make sound decisions in any operating condition,” the TSB says.
On many small fishing vessels, the master acts as the authorized representative. The master and the authorized representative of a vessel ensure that any person assigned a function on the vessel receives the on-board familiarization and safety training before they start to perform any duty on the vessel.
“The new Fishing Vessel Safety Regulations will come into force July 13, 2017. Under these regulations, small fishing vessels will be required to have written safety procedures and to familiarize the persons onboard the fishing vessel with those procedures.”
According to the TSB, the procedures are required to include the location and use of all safety equipment, as well as all of the measures that must be taken to protect persons on board, in particular, measures to prevent persons from falling overboard, to retrieve persons who have fallen overboard, to protect limbs from rotating equipment and to avoid ropes, docking lines, nets and other fishing equipment that may pose a safety hazard.
The new Fishing Vessel Safety Regulations will also require that drills on safety procedures, including person overboard situations, be held to ensure that the crew is proficient at all times in carrying out those procedures.
In addition, according to the TSB, the Nova Scotia Occupational Safety General Regulations apply to fishermen. These regulations include owners’ responsibilities for ensuring workers’ safety, mandatory usage of PFDs and the proper stowage of piled material such as traps.
The N.S. Department of Labour and Advanced Education, through its Occupational Health and Safety Division, uses education and the enforcement of its regulations to work with the fishing community to reduce workplace injuries and fatalities.
“In this manner, the provincial government plays an important role in fishermen’s safety by making use of activities that fall under its jurisdiction.”
Guidance is available to help fishermen develop safe work practices. In 2004, an advisory committee led by the Nova Scotia Fisheries Sector Council published a handbook entitled Fish Safe: A Handbook for Commercial Fishing and Aquaculture. It was intended to address workplace health and safety issues in the fishing industry.
Key points addressed in the handbook include the following: ensuring that employees know about workplace hazards, including how to identify hazards and how to protect themselves from those hazards; using a pre-sailing checklist; knowing how to rescue someone who has fallen overboard and wearing a floater suit or other survival gear when water is extremely cold and the risk of falling in is high.
Provincially, there are ongoing initiatives to increase safe work practices on fishing vessels. For example, on June 4, 2015, a plan for Nova Scotia’s fishing industry was released, called Fishing Safety Now. It was developed by the Safe at Sea Alliance, a group of fishermen, family members, industry, safety organizations, community leaders and government representatives. The plan includes recommendations to help improve safety, including developing a code of safe work practices for fishing vessels, developing occupational health and safety awareness, and making improvements in safety training and equipment.
Transportation Safety Board data indicated that between 1999 and August 2015, there were 55 deaths on Canadian fishing vessels due to crewmembers falling overboard.
On March 9, 2015, one of three crew members on the fishing vessel Four Ladies 2003 went overboard when some stacked lobster traps fell onto the main deck and knocked the crew member over the open stern.
At that time, the vessel was 15 nautical miles south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia. The crew member was recovered but was later pronounced deceased. The investigation found that there was no form related to onboard risk management that would guide the crew on how to work safely on the open stern. The crew also had no re-boarding devices for retrieving persons overboard and did not conduct emergency drills.
In June 2, 2012, the TSB released its Safety Issues Investigation into Fishing Safety in Canada. It provides an overall national view of safety issues in the fishing industry, revealing a complex relationship and interdependency among these issues.
The Board identified the following significant safety issues requiring attention: stability, life-saving appliances, fisheries resource management, the cost of safety, safety information, safe work practices, the regulatory approach to safety, fatigue, training and fishing industry statistics.
It found that the safety of fishermen is compromised by numerous issues that are interconnected: for example, work practices that do not include regular emergency drills; training that is not regularly reinforced with emergency drills; and the cost of safety as it relates to the failure to buy and maintain life-saving equipment and perform drills in the use of life-saving equipment.
The report also documented the complex operating environment of commercial fishing in Canada. This includes complex regulatory safety and environmental frameworks, changing economics and market conditions, many vessels owned and operated by individuals or families, shorter seasons, increasing difficulties finding experienced crew, and very traditional fishery practices as far as safety is concerned.
