Tag Archives: PFD
Floating device would likely not have saved fisherman, inquiry hears
A fisherman who fell overboard from a local whitefish trawler is unlikely to have survived even if he had worn his personal flotation device (PFD) correctly, an inquiry into his death heard on Tuesday. Edison Lacaste died after falling into the water while carrying out repairs to fishing gear on the twin rigger Copious in the early hours of 18 February 2021. The crew instantly responded to the incident by throwing a floating mooring rope but the 45-year-old Philippine national became unresponsive within two to three minutes. The second day of a Fatal Accident Inquiry held at Lerwick Sheriff Court also heard that the owners of the fishing vessel, 60 North Fishing (Shetland) Ltd, had complied with all necessary maritime health and safety requirements, and had held and recorded man overboard drills on a regular basis. more, >>click to read<< 16:17
Safety kit saves the life of a fisherman
What had started out as an ordinary working day for commercial fisherman Paul Reed turned into his worst nightmare when he went overboard from the >F/V Sidney Rose<, miles from land. But his decision to put on a lifejacket that morning, equipped with a locator beacon, likely saved his life. He’s been fishing for 38-years and has had just the one man overboard experience. But once is all it takes to never return to shore again. Paul activated his PLB,,, His skipper then raised the alarm with a Mayday, confirming to authorities that the alert they were searching for was, in fact, a man overboard. >click to read< 17:51
Plymouth fisherman stuck at sea after falling overboard ‘lucky to be alive’
Paul Reed was only rescued thanks to a vital piece of equipment which sent a distress signal to the emergency services. Paul was heading towards Salcombe on the morning of Friday 3 September when the boat he was on, the Sidney Rose, hit a patch of rough weather. He tripped and fell overboard, becoming stuck in the water with no chance of swimming to shore. But his decision to put on his lifejacket would prove crucial. >video, click to read< 21:23
Innovation in Survival
In simplest terms, when deployed in the water, a life jacket gives the casualty time to survive and reduces time for location and recovery. Flotation is the first obvious tool in survival. Spinlock dynamic bladders are designed to lift and rotate a casualty on to their back, holding the mouth above water and the body at a 45-degree angle to the horizontal, even if they are unconscious.,, On inflation of the life jacket the spray hood is simple to deploy.,,, the only SOLAS approved life jacket light that lifts the powerful led light above the user’s head, making the light visible for 360 degrees rather than only from the front of the casualty. >click to read< 07:50
Malpeque lobster boat captain refusing to obey order to wear mandatory PFD
Malpeque lobster boat captain Chris Wall says he has no plans to follow an order to start wearing a personal flotation device. Wall was issued the order a week ago by an occupational health and safety officer with the Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I. “I’ve fished for 25 years, and I plan on fishing the next 25 years without one,” said Wall. “It’s your own personal decision to decide if you want to wear a life jacket or not.” >click to read<13:59
Inside the cultural shift in commercial fishing, one of Canada’s deadliest industries
For the men and women working in Canada’s commercial fishing industry, every day on the open ocean brings with it life-threatening risks.
The nature of the job — long hours in wet, freezing cold temperatures — and the risks posed by going overboard when workers don’t wear safety gear have made it one of the deadliest industries in the country. Last year was one of the worst on record, with the Transportation and Safety Board (TSB) saying that during the first 10 months of 2018, 17 people died — an all-time high in the industry. But a push to make commercial fishing safer continues. Leonard LeBlanc, chair of the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia, is leading the charge. >click to read/Video<15:10
Will lobstermen/fishermen wear PFDs?
Think of the Maine lobsterman, and a few iconic images come to mind: a rugged boat with a wire trap on the rail; gloved hands holding a thrashing lobster and a gauge to measure whether it’s of legal size; a salty-looking fisherman wearing a T-shirt, oil pants and rubber boots, but no PFD (personal flotation device) or life jacket. According to an NEC report, fishermen generally described themselves as being proactive about safety whenever possible. Virtually all boats carry and maintain the safety gear required by the U.S. Coast Guard. A few years ago, many lobstermen began rigging rope ladders off the sterns of their boats to help them climb back on if they went overboard, and some run a line under the rail to a “kill switch” they can tug to shut off the engine if they are being pulled overboard. Lobstermen cited several reasons for their reluctance to wear PFD’s,, Read the rest here 11:04
Lobster fisherman rescued by helicopter after becoming caught in ropes
A man out fishing for lobsters was dramatically rescued yesterday evening after becoming entangled in his own ropes. This happened on Inishinny, a tiny island near to Arranmore Island off the coast of Donegal. A rescue call went out for the man – who was believed to be lobster fishing – just before 6pm. This was picked up by Malin Head rescue coordination centre and a Sligo-based Coast Guard helicopter was notified and arrived at the scene at around 6.30pm. Speaking about the incident, a Coast Guard spokesperson said the fact the man was wearing his lifejacket had been crucial in saving his life. Read the rest here 12:14
Wear that PFD! Lifejackets key for rescued fishermen
TWO fishermen saved after hours floating in waters off Ulverstone on Monday afternoon survived due to “everything going in their favour”, says a key lifesaving official. State lifesaving officer Chris Jacobson said that onshore currents, life jackets, easterly winds and the location of training crew members in an inflatable rubber boat (IRB) were among the factors that ensured the men survived the ordeal.”Realistically if they hadn’t had those jackets on their chance of survival wouldn’t have been good for that period of time,” Mr Jacobson said. Read the story here 08:05
