The New Brunswick government has introduced legislation to make personal flotation devices or life jackets mandatory for the commercial fishing industry, answering a recommendation issued after two fishermen drowned in 2016.
There is no requirement for fishers to wear life jackets, or PFDs, under current legislation, something the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said should change given the frequency of drowning in the industry.
Fishing vessels are not considered workplaces under the
province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, leaving WorkSafeNB unable to enforce safety standards.
Trevor Holder, the post-secondary education, training and labour minister, introduced amendments to the law in the legislature Tuesday. The amendments, if passed, would take effect June 1, 2024.
“The main goal is to make fishing a much safer industry,” Richard Blais, WorkSafeNB’s vice-president of prevention, said in an interview prior to the introduction of the bill.
“We know that drowning is a significant cause of death in that workplace, in that environment, and we believe that these changes that we’re proposing will make it safer to fish and people can come home to their families.”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found an average of 10 people die each year working in the commercial fishing industry. A 2012 report by the board says about a quarter of all fishing deaths are a result of falling overboard, and in some cases, being unable to reboard.