Fishing community comes together to improve safety at sea

Two well-known UK fishermen have lent their support to the new Home & Dry fishing safety campaign, which aims to reduce the incidence of Man Overboard (MOB).

The voices of Simon Bywater from Norfolk and Brian Chambers from County Down are featured in an animated film with the message that ‘safety is better shared’.

The animation emphasises the roles of skippers and crew, the wider fishing community, and family and friends in helping to avoid MOB and bringing all fishermen ‘home and dry’.

The animation has been designed to encourage fishermen to access a range of additional online safety resources. These include a brand-new Man Overboard Toolkit which can be saved on a mobile phone to be accessed on land or at sea; a series of case studies; and short films featuring fishermen and RNLI trainers showing what it’s like to take part in a MOB training event.

The animation and all of the additional safety materials can be found on the Home and Dry website at: www.homeanddry.uk/mob.

Explaining his reason for getting behind the campaign, Brian Chambers, who is Chief Executive of The Anglo-Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation (ANIFPO), said: “Having lost my cousin at sea, safety is hugely important to me. He worked on a small under-10m crabber, similar to my own boat, and that has driven my passion to enhance safety at sea. I hope I can help raise awareness through my involvement in the campaign.”

Simon Bywater, who is Chief Executive of Renaissance of the East Anglian Fisheries Community Interest Company (REAF CIC), added: “My advice for anyone to prevent MOB would be to think what could go wrong and take preventative actions. Do risk assessments, separate ropes, have a knife on you, know what to do if you go over and always wear a life jacket with PLB.”

The Home & Dry campaign is delivered by the Home and Dry Safety Forum, an industry group set up with the goal of reducing the numbers of fatalities in commercial fishing to zero. Commercial fishing is well-known as one of the most dangerous occupations in the UK, with 47 fatalities recorded over the last 10 years. MOB incidents are one of the most frequent causes of fishing fatalities and this new campaign seeks to address the root causes of MOB and unite communities, industry bodies and fishermen on a shared mission to improve safety at sea.

Seafish Chief Executive and Chair of the Forum, Marcus Coleman said: “The Home and Dry Fishing Safety Forum involves representatives from fishing industry organisations and safety bodies from all corners of the UK. I’m extremely grateful to all our members for their input and expertise, which has shaped the new MOB campaign. I’m also delighted to have their support in getting the campaign’s messages out to their members so that, together, we can deliver a safer industry for all – as the campaign highlights, safety is better shared.”

Over the next month, Home and Dry will be sharing information on Instagram and Facebook and is inviting fishermen and the wider commercial fishing community to get involved with the campaign.

ENDS