NFFO Safety and Training Officer and FISG Promotion of Safety chairman Robert Greenwood is encouraging fishermen to download the latest publication from the European Union on fishing safety.
The EU Guide for Risk Prevention in Small Fishing Vessels is the long-awaited product of a project by the Social Partners in Europe and heavily contributed to by the UK’s Federations and organisations such as the MCA and Seafish.
‘The guide is quite large and may seem overwhelming but it is a great reference document to refer to as need arises, and is broken in to small sections which are easier to digest. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of keeping safety at the forefront of the industry’s mind, the UK’s fishermen have worked hard to improve safety and this book helps to support and further this cause,’ Robert Greenwood said.
The work of the Fishing Industry Safety Group (FISG) acknowledges that to remove accidents at their root cause is the ultimate goal in fishing Safety and it is the UK’s fishermen who can make this difference by focusing on what most would think are insignificant accidents.
‘While we often focus on the bigger accident and the results of accidents it is typical that a simple slip, trip or fall is often the starting point of an accident that can result in serious injury or drowning. This guide focuses on the smaller factors that are usually easy to deal with and is a must read for anyone wanting to keep their vessel and crew safe,’ he commented.
With the upcoming ILO C188 work in fishing convention on the horizon with a greater emphasis on risk management this guide should be seen as an essential reference document for fishermen. It is currently available here as a free download in PDF format.
