Fishermen urged to avail of sea safety scheme
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, has called on all sectors of the fishing and aquaculture industries to take advantage of the new Enhanced Safety Training Programme from BIM. He was speaking at 10th Irish Skipper Expo in Galway, March 7/8.
Minister Coveney witnessed the signing of the contract with Sioen, the Gweedore-based maufacturers of the Mullion compact 150N lifejacket with the integrated Personal Locator Beacon.
Galway fisherman Thomas Fitzpatrick promotes safety at sea.
“The Irish fishing industry will be the first in the EU to utilise this life-saving equipment. We now have the resources available through BIM’s safety training and this lifejacket with an integrated personal locator beacon, to minimise lives lost at sea.
“We have already seen too many tragedies in recent years and collectively we need to ensure we do all in our power to minimise risk or in the case of an accident, to have the best equipment and knowledge to save lives at sea. I would strongly encourage fishermen and fish-farmers to sign up for the BIM training as a matter of urgency,” he said.
BIM and Sioen in partnership with the RNLI demonstrated in the hotel pool how the new PDFs with the integrated PLB can help save fishermen’s lives.
“I am fishing for eleven years now and I have always worn a lifejacket,” remarked local fisherman, Thomas Fitzpatrick. “It gives me the reassurance I need before I head out to sea that if anything did happen I have some protection.
“Like my father, who is the skipper of Shauna Ann, I love fishing but it’s a tough and dangerous job and safety has to be a priority for all the crew. I have completed my safety training and I would encourage all fishermen to do the same and to wear their lifejackets correctly.”
As part of the rollout of the Government’s first marine safety strategy, and in response to the high level of fatalities at sea (35 fishing related fatalities from 2007-2012), the scheme is a one-day course designed to provide skippers and crew of registered fishing vessels with on-going training in personal survival techniques, first aid, fire fighting, and health and safety in the workplace.
Those successfully completing the course (or, in the case of new entrants, those successfully completing BIM’s three-day basic safety training) may avail of a special incentive under the agency’s Safety Equipment Scheme. This provides grant-aid of up to 60% towards the cost of purchasing Personal Flotation Devices (PFD) fitted with an integrated Personal Locator Beacon (PLB).
BIM developed the concept for a PLB integrated PFD primarily to cater for fishermen and aquaculture work boats, typically vessels under 15 metres, as they form an industry group showing high casualty and fatality rates. This group emerged as a particularly at risk group given that they are generally solo operators without any on-board AIS systems.
“We will provide safety training courses for up to 800 fishermen on 60 courses at 14 locations around out coast this year. Grant-aid will be provided for up to 600 personal flotation devices with fitted PLBs, and safety notices encouraging fishermen to wear their PFDs and complete their training will be placed at 50 locations around our coast,” remarked Michael Keatinge, BIM’s Director of Fisheries and Training Development.
“We have made the training fully accessible to the sector and we urge all fishermen to complete their safety training in our National Fisheries Colleges in Castletownbere or Greencastle or on our mobile coastal training units.”
Further details: www.bim.ie
TRAINING COURSES
BIM National Fisheries College of Ireland, Castletownbere, Co. Cork
26th March, 23rd April, 8th May, 12th June
BIM National Fisheries College of Ireland, Greencastle, Co. Donegal
10th March, 24th March, 9th April, 28th April, 19th May, 3rd June, 24th June
BIM Mobile Coastal Training Unit – West Coast
25th March, 27th March, 1st April, 3rd
