Safety of fishing vessel has been the top priority to stop the rate of accident on the field. It is said that the design, construction, maintenance and inspection of fishing vessels has been the fatal flaw behind the deadliest job. The news report states that the two senators on opposite coasts, each from a state with a rich maritime tradition, are key to passing legislation requiring the first overhaul of standards and inspections for the nation’s fishing fleet.
Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell chairs the Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe is the subcommittee’s senior Republican member. They have tried to address a fundamental flaw in overseeing an industry with the nation’s highest worker fatality rate.
It is no doubt that commercial fishing is very lethal. Eyes turn toward the Senate even before legislation leaves the House. A similar bill was voted out of the House in 2008, only to disappear in the Senate. Safety standards are phased in for older boats, and set a 2020 deadline for all vessels to meet. It is told that survival rates improved over the years, but it took the worst sorts of disasters to require emergency beacons, survival suits and Coast Guard-approved life rafts.
