Canadian Occupational Safety

16 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com Fishing is one of the most dangerous industries in Nova Scotia. A fi sher in the province is 46 times more likely to suffer an acute fatality than a worker in any other industry, according to the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCB). Since 2010, the industry has seen 23 acute fatalities — including one so far in 2015. Nationally, an average of 11 people die in commercial fi shing accidents each year, according to the federal Transportation Safety Board (TSB) — and about fi ve of those occur in Nova Scotia. To encourage a culture shift among the provincial fi shing industry, the Safe at Sea Alliance was born, made up of government, associations, fi shers, their families and communities. The alliance came about in 2013 after fi ve men on the Miss Ally were lost at sea. The crew had been gone for fi ve days to fi sh for halibut when their vessel ran into trouble during a storm. The boat capsized off southwest Nova Scotia after being slammed by a wall of water nearly 20 metres high. The bodies of the fi ve men were never recovered. "It really seemed to be one of those moments in time where we thought, as a community, as a province, we just can't continue to go forward the way things have gone in the past. It was that line in the sand moment where we knew it was time to actually do something to have a different kind of future," says Shelley Rowan, vice-president of prevention and service delivery at the WCB, which is a member of the Safe at Sea Alliance. One key initiative of the alliance is the Fishing Safety Action Plan, which will identify how to improve safety within the industry. The plan is expected to be launched this summer. One of the biggest causes of fatalities in the fi shing industry is falls overboard. Across Canada, 25 per cent of all fi shing fatalities result from falling overboard and in some cases the inability to re-board the vessel, according to a 2013 marine investigation report by the TSB. The report says the number of accidents involving loss of life on fi shing vessels in Canada remains too high, and it calls on government and leaders in the fi shing community to work together to improve safety. Fishers are not only working on a surface that is always wet, and sometimes oily, they are grappling with unsteady footing as the boat moves with the current and waves. "I equate it with, you take a normal job where someone might be doing some sort of a process in a plant or industry somewhere and take that same person and have them do that same job on a moving tilt-a-whirl at the local fair," says Stewart Franck, executive director of the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia, which is a member of the Safe at Sea Alliance. "That puts it into perspective. How are you going to stay upright let alone do your job?" The main risk factors for falls overboard in lobster fi shing are weather conditions, working methods and the crew's attitudes and behaviours, according to a study by the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) in Montreal. Fishers need to know what operations on the vessel might contribute to falls overboard. For example, properly arranging the rope on the deck when loading the traps is "imperative to avoid the risks of being dragged in," found the IRSST report. Systematically arranging the traps and properly storing buoys are other preventive measures. Falling overboard is the number 1 concern when it comes to fi shing fatalities in British Columbia, says Gina McKay, recently retired program manager at Richmond, B.C.-based Fish SAFE, a provincial industry-driven program for improving safety on commercial fi shing vessels. One reason why falling overboard results in fatalities is because many fi shers are not wearing personal fl otation devices (PFDs). To address this in a fun yet compelling way, Fish SAFE launched the "Real Fishermen Wear PFDs" poster campaign, showcasing tough fi shermen wearing PFDs — including a big, burley man in a pink lifejacket. Nova Scotia's Safe at Sea Alliance adopted a similar program, but with a more serious tone. The alliance's "Who Do You Wear Your PFD For?" campaign called on fi shers to think of their friends and family members who want them to work safely. The Safe at Sea Alliance is trying to create a "social movement" and make wearing PFDs more acceptable, says Franck. Although there is still a long way to go, the mindset really is shifting. "There was a time when we got a lot of backlash even at the mention of personal fl otation devices and sometimes it wasn't seen to be cool to be wearing a PFD and you might be called out as a wimp or something like that," he says. "Now we're fi nding the shift is the captain is saying 'If you're going to work for me, you're going to come aboard my boat, you're going to have a PFD on — or else stay on the wharf.'" The initiative was so successful that at the start of lobster season in November, retailers in southwestern Nova Scotia couldn't keep their shelves stocked with PFDs — sales in that area increased by 100 per cent in 2014. But a PFD is only part of the solution. If a fi sher falls overboard, her crew members need to know how to bring her to safety — this is where emergency drills come in. Nova Scotia's Fishing Safety Action Plan identifi es safety drills as a key component to drive safety in the industry. Before the start of fi shing season, many fi shers across the country participate in emergency drills. A "man overboard" drill allows workers to practice throwing a life ring, lowering a boarding ladder or using a retrieval device to safely bring a crew member back on board. "But all those things have to be done prior to any incident," says McKay. "(Fishers) have to be well versed and well practiced." Fish SAFE makes an event out of the drills with competitions and prizes at the wharf. The drills are also effective in making fi shers realize they may be missing key pieces of equipment on their boats, such as a boarding ladder or other life-saving devices. "I met a guy who watched his brother drown because he couldn't bring him into the boat," says LeBlanc. "His brother weighed over 300 pounds and he couldn't lift him. That could have been avoided by having a simple lift off the lobster trap hauler." One of the most important elements for emergency response is making sure all fi shers know where their equipment is and have easy access to it. "Lots of folks when they set things up made sure they had the right equipment and tools as required by the regulations, but over time you lose track of: Where is it? How quickly can I get it? What do I use it for?" says Rowan. "The drills actually require people on the vessels to do that in real time." CAPSIZING TOO COMMON Stability problems is one of the top two reasons for fatalities at sea (the other being falls overboard), according to the TSB report. Watertight integrity, downfl ooding, raised centre of gravity, overloading and vessel modifi cations are all grouped under "stability." There are many examples of boats capsizing where stability was an issue, including when the Cap Rouge II capsized off the mouth of the Fraser River in B.C. in 2002, killing fi ve people. After this accident, the TSB called for all small fi shing vessels to undergo an approved stability assessment. Thirteen years later, Transport Canada is in the draft stages of putting in place such a requirement. In the meantime, more fatalities are occurring due to capsizing. In May, the TSB released its report into the capsizing of the Five Star vessel in June 2014 in B.C., which resulted in the drowning of the ship's master. "His vessel wasn't required to have any formal stability assessment done. There was no indications as to how much load he could carry on deck," Glenn Budden, a senior marine investigator at TSB told My Comox Valley Now. "One of the risks was non-requirement for formal stability assessment for vessels of that size." For trap fi shing, such as lobster and crab, stability is primarily an issue at the beginning of the season when fi shers are putting the traps out and at the end of the season when they are bringing all their traps back in. "Every year I fi nd vessels that are just barely out of the water when they are loaded with traps, so they are putting themselves and their crew at risk," says Franck. "It's OK if it's nice and fl at, calm, but if you start getting a couple metre waves, then you're really at risk." commercial fi shing vessels. One reason why falling overboard results in fatalities is because many fi shers are not wearing personal fl otation devices (PFDs). says Rowan. "The drills actually require people on the vessels to do that in real time." CAPSIZING TOO COMMON Stability problems is one of the top two reasons for fatalities at sea (the other being falls overboard), according to the TSB report. Watertight integrity, downfl ooding, raised centre of gravity, overloading and vessel modifi cations are all grouped under "stability." There are many examples of boats capsizing where stability was an issue, including when the Cap Rouge II capsized off the mouth of the Fraser River in B.C. in 2002, killing fi ve people. After this accident, the TSB called for VESSEL STABILITY SIMULATOR The Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters offers a virtual Fishing Vessel Stability Simulator, which demonstrates the fundamental principles of vessel stability using a desktop computer. The program calculates stability and forces in real-time and features 3D interactive simulations, gaming scenarios, videos, vessel diagrams and animations. Using an interactive display, the user begins by choosing a region of the country. Next, he selects a virtual vessel resembling his own craft in size and operation. The program is able to simulate fi shing vessels up to 85 feet long and features a signifi cant database of Canadian hull types, including a full range of small fi shing vessels, small open boats, multiple deck and multi-purpose vessels. The user then reconfi gures the vessel with different fi shing gear arrangements and loads so he can see how these changes affect the vessel's overall stability. The user can also look at how activities such as loading, transferring, lifting weights and trawling affect stability. The simulator is divided into six modules and covers stability concepts as outlined in Transport Canada's requirements for the Fishing Master IV certifi cate.

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