November 6, 2018 — The deadliest year in over a decade for commercial fishermen has the Transportation Safety Board of Canada sounding the alarm over what it calls the industry’s “disturbing safety record.”
So far in 2018, 17 people have died aboard fishing vessels, the most since 2004.
Those deaths were largely the result of crew members not wearing personal flotation devices or deploying safety signals, the board said Monday as it released its annual Watchlist.
“The industry’s safety culture still has a long way to go before its members stop accepting more risk than is necessary,” the board’s chair, Kathy Fox, told a news conference in Gatineau, Quebec.
In addition to fishing safety, the independent agency’s yearly report also calls attention to railway sign safety and runway safety at Canadian airports.
While safety measures have been recommended and implemented over the years in commercial fisheries, the board said it’s disappointed with the lack of results.
The number of fishing vessel deaths continues to fluctuate year to year. For example, there were 17 deaths in 2004, eight in 2016, three in 2017 and 17 again so far this year.