The Canadian fishing industry has seen much tragedy on the water in 2013.
In February, the area mourned the loss of five young fishermen on the Miss Ally, capsized by in vicious winter storm.
With the recent death of another local man, people have questioned how much more sadness the industry will bring to local communities this year.
Last week, a Charlesville man died when he fell from a spar during a swordfishing trip. His death brought the number of fishermen killed in Nova Scotia waters to eight so far this year. In comparison, there have been eight other workplace related deaths recorded so far within all other industries in the province.
It shows we have an awful lot of work left to do, said Stewart Franck, the executive director of the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia.
While Franck said he knew few details of how the latest accident happened, he offered that most, if not all, fishing industry deaths were preventable.
It’s a dangerous industry, history shows us that, he said. We want the future to be much brighter, he said.
Among other things, the safety association has promoted the use of personal floatation devices in the industry and has worked with companies and fishermen to develop action plans that could save lives.
We can do things to prevent what we believe are needless deaths, he said Franck.
He points out that like fishing, the mining industry had been an occupation fraught with danger, evidenced by the Westray Mine disaster in 1992. Franck says stringent safety rules enacted in that industry have drastically improved the situation in Nova Scotia and across Canada despite heavy mining activity.
Shortly after last Tuesday’s fishing accident, provincial officials offered assurances that safety improvements would be sought.
“This morning, someone’s family member didn’t come home from work. This is a tragedy that is happening too often,” said Labour Minister Frank Corbett. “When a life is tragically lost, provincial investigators take every step within their power to find out what happened and to protect other workers.”
Franck says there are steps that can and should be taken within the industry to prevent more deaths from occurring.
We think they are all preventable every single one, he said.
TC Media