SEAFISH, the authority on seafood, informed that the report, which investigated the tragic loss of three fishermen’s lives from incidents involving the vessels Korenbloem, Osprey III and Optik, calls for an urgent, properly funded plan of action to improve fishing safety. Seafish welcomes this recommendation and Simon Potten, Training and Accreditation Manager at Seafish, added that they are working hand in hand with industry, the Department for Transport (DfT), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the MAIB and others to improve fishing safety.
He said that the DfT has provided £850,000 over the last three years for us to deliver a programme of voluntary training for fishermen. There were grants of up to £1,000 to 65 fishermen studying for Fishing Vessel Certificates of Competency. Furthermore, we have recently been able to use our combined resources to lever an additional £780k of funding from the European Fisheries Fund.
Initial training increases fishermen’s knowledge, understanding and awareness, and the certificates enable them to diversify into other activities to help supplement their income during quiet fishing times. However, training alone is not enough. Fishing remains the most dangerous occupation in the UK, 120 times more dangerous than the UK average.
