Recommendations from the Transportation Safety Board on fishing vessels

RICHMOND, B.C. – The Transportation Safety Board issued recommendations to the Transport Department on Wednesday aimed at the commercial fishing industry after the capsizing in September 2015 of a vessel off Vancouver Island. Here are the board’s main recommendations:

— The Transport Department should establish standards for all new and existing large fishing vessels to ensure information on the stability of a vessel is adequate and available to its crews.

— Similar stability information that has already been done should also be available to the crews of small fishing vessels, which should be required by the Transport Department to undergo stability assessments.

— Fishermen should be required to wear personal flotation devices at all times when on deck or on a commercial fishing vessel without a deck, which the board says will significantly reduce the loss of life with proper education and enforcement measures in place.