#SafetyAtSea - Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) highlighted the importance of safety at sea in the Irish fishing industry at this year’s Irish Skipper Expo in Galway last weekend.
Ireland's sea fisheries board also marked the occasion with the launch of a new training guide on personal survival techniques, covering key topics such as personal flotation devices, abandoning ship, helicopter rescue and hypothermia.
The guide, approved by the National Adult Literacy Association (NALA), was developed by BIM in consultation with Dr Jason van der Velde of Medico Cork at Cork University Hospital, the Department of Transport and the Irish Coast Guard.
Over the last five years, 19 deaths at sea related to the commercial fishing and aquaculture sector have been recorded. Statistics for 2012 record seven deaths, and an increase year on year for the previous four years. And with two deaths already recorded this year, safety is a serious issue that must be addressed in the wider seafood sector.
BIM chief executive Jason Whooley emphasised the importance of completing life saving safety training. "Fishing is a dangerous occupation and the sector has already suffered from too many tragic accidents at sea in recent years," he said.
"With new developments in safety on board and new technology coming on stream, we have more tools at our disposal to increase survival rates from accidents at sea but in order for these measures to be effective, all crew require the necessary training.
"It is therefore imperative that fishermen and aquaculture personnel, who have not already done so, complete their safety training to help prevent any further lives lost at sea."
BIM runs a variety of training courses for industry, including the mandatory Basic Safety Course, in its dedicated training colleges under the National Fisheries College Ireland (NFCI) umbrella in Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork, as well as on board its coastal training units that bring training directly to ports and coastal locations around Ireland.
