Safety symposium focuses on preparing for incidents before tragedy occurs

Back on November 2, the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association hosted its annual safety symposium.

The event was attended by fish harvesters across the province and industry stakeholders.

There were some startling statistics unveiled at the event. Fish harvesters are 13 times more likely to lose their lives at work than in any other occupation.

To mitigate the safety hazards, fish harvesters talked about their obligation and commitment to working safely including preparing a sail plan before departing from the wharf and leaving it with someone who can give authorities the information about the vessel including how many people are on board, the location where the boat went fishing, and the time the crew was expected home.

Vessels should also be equipped with emergency distress signalling that will send emergency signals and provide the vessel’s location and seek adequate, timely and efficient access to search and rescue resources, not only in Newfoundland but also in Labrador.