Fishing Safety Legislation ILO 188, Maritime and Coastguard Agency Supports Industry Compliance
Commercial
fishing is still the most dangerous profession in the UK with a total of seven
lives lost in the UK fleet in 2019. ILO 188 legislation came into force a year ago
and was brought into law to improve safety and well-being for everyone working
on fishing vessels.
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) is stepping up monitoring of the fishing industry and compliance with ILO 188. The MCA will be taking full advantage of resources and new technology, for example, the use of new fixed-wing aircraft with high quality cameras onboard.
When
the aircraft are looking for pollution at sea or helping with search
operations, they will also be equipped to observe and report on the operations
of fishing vessels which are not complying with UK legislation, for example the
wearing of personal flotation devices (PFD) and life jackets on a fishing
vessel.
David
Fenner, Head of Fishing Safety at the MCA, said:
“Fishing
is still the most dangerous profession in the UK today and, whilst we are
seeing improvements in safety, tragically there were seven lives lost in the
industry last year, all of which could have been prevented. The
introduction of ILO 188 at the end of 2018 was a considerable change in the way
safety in the industry is managed. These regulations introduced new
requirements for the safety and protection of fishers and powers of enforcement
where unsafe practices are observed onboard.”
Neil
Cunningham, Head of Enforcement at the MCA, went on to say:
“The
biggest challenge to the MCA in ensuring requirements of regulations are
followed has always been that we are unable to see what actually happens
onboard a vessel once it leaves port. We will be using new resources including
two new fixed-wing aircraft. While they are looking for pollution at sea or
helping with searches, they will also give us the opportunity to have a clear
sight into what is happening on vessels at sea and where it is clear that legal
requirements are not being met (for example, not wearing a PFD) we will take
appropriate action to continue to support the industry in improving safety. Appropriate
and proportionate action will be considered and that may ultimately result in a
prosecution.”