Fishermen need better life-jacket designs, union says
3 fishermen who drowned in Tabusintac in May 2013 had life-jackets on board, TSB investigation found
The head of the Maritime Fishermen's Union says the industry should design better life-jackets for fishermen if it wants them to wear them.
Christian Brun, the MFU's executive secretary, was responding to the Transportation Safety Board's recommendations Thursday in a report into the sinking of the Marie J in northeastern New Brunswick in May 2013.
Three lobster fishermen lost their lives when their small boat grounded on a sandbar in Tabusintac Bay and then got pushed over by breaking waves during a gale.
Brun says life-jackets are fine for pleasure crafts, but they're not adapted for working fishermen.
"They have some strings or whatever and some pockets and stuff. You can actually have some equipment hook onto these and you can go with the equipment down off the boat. So there are some serious questions about that," he said.
Personal flotation devices (PFDs) are equally unwieldy, said Brun.
"The ones that have been available in the past are extremely unadapted to the work that harvesters are doing. They're either very heavy or cumbersome, they don't breathe well, they're actually dangerous in some respect."
Fishermen worry the PFDs will hook onto equipment and send them into the water, he said.
Brun says it will be difficult to change the culture of fishermen.
The MFU is working with manufacturers to try to come up with better models, he said.
Lack of dredging blamed by locals
The TSB repeated two outstanding recommendations in its report.
It suggested that Transport Canada expedite new rules to require fishermen to carry survival suits, and require small fishing vessels to carry a beacon during coastal voyages to indicate their position in an emergency to ensure navigational safety.
Fisherman like Denis Thibodeau say safety measures are always welcome, but they aren't convinced the TSBs recommendations will help keep others safe.
Thibodeau blames the area and rough conditions for the Marie J sinking on its return to McEachern's Point harbour on May 18, 2013,
Often when you are working, often you are not thinking too much about safety. And the more awareness the fishermen will receive, less loss of life will happen.- Caraquet MLA Hédard Albert
Local fishermen had been complaining about the narrow channel prior to the fatal accident and had urged Fisheries and Oceans Canada to dredge the area.
Dredging began nine days after the Marie J went down.
Thibodeau says not enough was done prior to the accident to keep his colleagues safe.
Instructors at the New Brunswick School of Fisheries are focused on minimizing the risks associated with fishing.
The school, located in Caraquet, was the first Canadian fishery school to have a safety course, which stipulates life-jackets must be in boats at all times.
But Caraquet MLA Hédard Albert, who was the director of the school for 15 years, says for a culture of safety to take hold, everyone needs to get involved.
"They have to sit together. I'm sure the government, the unions, and the school of fisheries — the community college now — to try to put in place an organization that its role is to inform fishermen about safety," said Albert.
"Often when you are working, often you are not thinking too much about safety," he said.
"And the more awareness the fishermen will receive, less loss of life will happen."