Tag Archives: Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association

TSB: Island Lady likely sank quickly and with no warning

Unable to examine a vessel that cannot be found, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Wednesday it cannot say what happened to a small fishing vessel that disappeared last year off the coast of southern Labrador. Marc Russell and Joey Jenkins of Mary’s Harbour were last seen Sept. 17 aboard the Island Lady, which fished from Mary’s Harbour. The pair had headed out to fish for cod. “The TSB’s investigation into this occurrence could not determine with certainty the cause of the disappearance of the Island Lady,” the board said in a statement Wednesday. >click to read< 14:42

Labrador Shrimp Company Partnership Brings 70 EPIRBS to Harvesters

Seventy commercial fishing enterprises in southern Labrador between L’Anse au Clair and Cartwright will receive an EPIRB. This is made possible through a living memorial to two young harvesters who lost their lives while fishing on the F/V Island Lady on September 17, 2021. Marc Russell, aged 25 from Mary’s Harbour, and Joey Jenkins, aged 30 from Lodge Bay, failed to return home to their community and were never found. The Labrador Shrimp Company is spear-heading the project in collaboration with the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association (NL-FHSA), Fish Harvesters’ Resource Centre (FRC), Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board (PFHCB), and the Fish Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor). >click to read the press release< 13:52

Personal locator beacons – New coalition is making the devices cheaper for fishermen

There have been 20 fatalities in the province’s fishing industry over the past 10 years, and the bodies of five of those fishermen have never been recovered. So the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association has partnered with the Fish Harvesters’ Resource Centre, the Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board, and the Fish Food & Allied Workers union to subsidize the cost of 2,500 beacons. Video, >click to read< 09:20

N.L. regulators watching closely as B.C. requires life jackets on fishing vessels

Fishers in British Columbia now have a clear directive when it comes to life jackets: they must be worn on decks of fishing vessels. That regulation change is getting attention in Newfoundland and Labrador.,,, The amended regulation in B.C. has safety advocates in Newfoundland and Labrador talking. >click to read< 10:37

FFAW bloated with millions more in fees and government revenue than union dues

The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) estimates the FFAW-Unifor will be fed by almost $5 million more this year from harvester fees and government sources than from membership dues, proving the union has lost its way.  “The FFAW-Unifor has mutated into a labour sea monster with tentacles in management, science, dockside monitoring, grading, professionalization, and safety,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “It’s often said that the FFAW doesn’t make money from fishermen, but through fishermen. The union executive grows fat with huge salaries and pensions while inshore harvesters are being starved out.” In 2017, FISH-NL estimates the FFAW-Unifor will collect $7.9 million in fees from inshore harvesters for services such as dockside monitoring and grading, as well as from various government contracts/grants. click here to read the story 08:11

Atlantic fishermen groups want more time to adapt to new vessel safety rules

Fishery organizations in Atlantic Canada say they are frustrated with the rollout of new federal fishing-vessel safety regulations scheduled to take effect in July, but Ottawa says they’re being given sufficient time to comply.Representatives from a number of regional and national groups walked out of a meeting with Transport Canada Officials on Thursday in Halifax when they didn’t get the answers they were hoping for. Sharon Walsh, executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association, says the groups are looking for a phase-in period to help fishermen and companies be compliant — but federal officials have not been receptive to the idea. continue reading the story here 13:51