YARMOUTH, N.S. — Throughout the fall, the ‘Are You Ready’ team has been busy visiting wharves throughout LFAs 33 and 34, conducting safety drills and sharing resources and knowledge to help ensure fishermen come home safely at the end of the day.
“In general, especially leading up to the season fishermen already have safety on their minds,” said Matthew Duffy, safety advisor for the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia (FSANS). “They know setting day is a dangerous day when the boats are fully loaded and there’s a lot of moving parts happening.”
Co-managed by the FSANS and the Nova Scotia Fisheries Sector Council, more than 180 man overboard drills have been conducted throughout the province since 2012 through the ‘Are You Ready’ program, covering about 90 percent of the wharves in Nova Scotia.
“Our goal is to get around to as many of the wharves as possible before the season starts,” said Duffy.
In addition to conducting the safety drills, the team will also be doing wharf visits to chat with the fishermen and share information and answer questions about Transport Canada requirements, best practices and safety equipment, he said.
The safety drills meanwhile continue to attract large crowds.
“It seems to increase each year,” said Duffy.
“This year we have people calling us to do the drills instead of us calling them,” he said, with the crowd often applauding at the end of the safety demonstrations that deal with fire, flooding, man overboard, abandon ship and medical scenarios.
“A lot of people will comment (the drill) was very helpful and I learned a lot of things that I can take back to my own boat and that’s exactly why we do it,” said Duffy.
The fall drills are scheduled on a week-by-week basis and once details are finalized the event is publicized on the FSANS Facebook page.
Duffy said while there is definitely an increase in the number of fishermen who wear PFDs while fishing, it is still an area that needs more work.
“I think industry and fishermen agree we need a better selection for PFDs,” he said. “Some of the ones that they like to wear are the ones that are not approved, and the ones that are approved not everyone likes to wear them because they’re not overly comfortable. Really, when it comes down to it, what you are allowed to use commercially, the selection is very small.”
Duffy said the association is continuing “to work with manufacturers and industry to try to keep the discussion going how we can steer our way in the direction of a better, more board market of PFDs for the industry.”
“I think once we get there you are going to see a lot more buy-in from everyone,” he said.
The FSANS encourages everyone to wear their PFDs so they come home safely at the end of the day, said Duffy, and wishes all fishermen a safe and prosperous season.
ARE YOU READY?
The Are You Ready program is co-managed by the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Fisheries Sector Council.
Safety demonstrations cover man overboard scenario, fire drill, abandon ship, flooding and medical emergency, using equipment such as life ring, throw bag, and boarding ladder, and retrieval devices such as the Pubnico ring and Jason cradle.
Equipment maintenance advice, assistance in completing the wheelhouse safety logbook, and assistance with Small Vessel Compliance Program – Transport Canada’s “Orange Decal” program for vessels under 15 gross tonnes, are also part of the safety demonstrations.
Wharf side visits cover PFD maintenance checks and tips, reviewing types of retrieval devices and offering to help test them out, immersion suit maintenance tips and donning, wheelhouse safety logbook completion, safety equipment checks and help with Transport Canada and Department of Labour requirements.
