{"id":4332,"date":"2014-02-15T12:05:54","date_gmt":"2014-02-15T17:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/?p=4332"},"modified":"2015-03-06T12:53:27","modified_gmt":"2015-03-06T17:53:27","slug":"safe-boat-smart-boat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/safe-boat-smart-boat\/","title":{"rendered":"SAFE-BOAT SMART-BOAT: PFDs, grappling with fishing\u2019s \u2018safety culture\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Fred Mattera \u2013\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

During safety training sessions in December and January each year, I break out the \u201cCold Water Boot Camp USA\u201d DVD.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great tool for reviewing coldwater safety with fishermen now that the water temperature is a frigid 45\u00b0F or less.<\/p>\n

In the video, selected volunteers agree to immerse themselves in 45\u00b0F water without any means of flotation and let everyone see their reactions, which vary from person to person.\u00a0 This video never fails to produce the \u201cWOW\u201d factor, and usually a fisherman will share his or her man-overboard story and how lucky they feel to have survived.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Mattera-SH\"<\/a>

A qualified Coast Guard-approved marine drill instructor, Fred Mattera of Point Judith, RI is the owner\/president of North East Safety Training Co. (NESTCo), which conducts fishing vessel drills and inspections and basic safety training workshops.
A commercial fisherman for 40 years, Mattera is a member of the Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee to the Coast Guard, and, since 1998, has been president of the Point Club, a fishing vessel mutual insurance group. He also has served on the board of directors for Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance Co., the principal underwriter for the Point Club and more than 2,000 US fishing vessels, since 1998.<\/p><\/div>\n

So, now that I have a captive audience, it is up to me to convince these fishermen that wearing a PFD will save their life.\u00a0 I have all but bought these personal flotation devices for a lot of crewmen, and I often let fishermen borrow my PFDs so they can judge the comfort factor for themselves.<\/p>\n

Five to seven years ago, my success rate in convincing these people to buy their own PFDs was about one out of 25 fishermen.\u00a0 In the last year, that has improved to around one out of 10.\u00a0 And, even more encouragingly, over the last six weeks, one out of five fishermen has purchased a PFD.\u00a0 Yeah, baby steps, but definitely an improvement.<\/p>\n

After viewing the Cold Water Boot Camp DVD, I usually discuss an anecdotal story of a man-overboard incident.\u00a0 Most recently, the discussion has revolved around the miraculous account of John Aldridge, the Montauk, NY fisherman who survived a 12-hour man-overboard incident this past summer.<\/p>\n

John was intuitive and used his boots under his arms for flotation.\u00a0 He set a goal of making it to sunrise, knowing he was in an area surrounded by lobster gear, and he was able to cut a poly ball off the end of a trawl for additional flotation.<\/p>\n

He watched aircraft fly close to him and fishing and Coast Guard vessels steam by him for hours.\u00a0 Eventually, he was able to retrieve another poly ball and, using the line, tied the two balls together to create a sling seat where he waited, praying for rescue.\u00a0 These amazing accomplishments all demonstrated John\u2019s incredible will to live.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 2, Paul Tough, a journalist for The<\/i> New York Times<\/i>, published an outstanding story describing the harrowing details of John\u2019s incredible survival and rescue.\u00a0 This is a must-read piece for any mariner.<\/p>\n

But<\/i> \u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trying to die?<\/b><\/p>\n

Here is where the feel-good story changes course, prompted by an article written by former Coast Guard rescue swimmer Mario Vittone in response to The<\/i> Times<\/i> piece and published on Jan. 3 in the online publication gCaptain Maritime and Offshore News<\/i>.<\/p>\n

In his article, which was titled \u201cTrying Very Hard To Die:\u00a0 The Preventable Disease in Commercial Fishing,\u201d Mario offers this provocative statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m beginning to think there is a disease that is caught early in a working fisherman\u2019s life.\u00a0 It\u2019s as if there is something in the scales of fish that wants to pay them back, something that gets under their skin.\u00a0 Once in their blood, it affects the brain and makes them more likely to die than any other group of professional mariners.\u00a0 It makes them believe that they are different, that fishing is more dangerous than every other job out there and nothing can be done about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Now, that struck a chord with me.\u00a0 How many times have I heard fishermen say something to the effect of, \u201cOh well.\u00a0 That\u2019s fishing.\u00a0 Deal with it.\u201d\u00a0 I admit that, for most of my fishing career, I fell into the same mindset, \u201cthe inescapable risk of the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mario has met many fishermen in the back of a rescue helicopter, and his sense is that this is their belief \u2013 that the dangers of being at sea are greater for them than for anyone else who goes to sea and that those dangers are inescapable.\u00a0 Mario refers to it as
\n\u201cCFD \u2013 Commercial Fishing Disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

I describe it as, \u201cIt\u2019s never going to happen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with Mario, I, too, am elated that John Aldridge survived.\u00a0 But we can learn a lot from his mistakes, detailed in both articles, that could prevent this kind of mishap from happening to other fishermen.\u00a0 Here goes.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0John was awake for 22 hours straight at the time of the incident.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0He was working on deck alone in the middle of the night with the autopilot engaged.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0Two members of his crew were asleep below.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0He was supposed to wake a crewman to relieve his watch but, instead, kept working.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0There apparently was no bridge alarm to warn the crew that whoever was supposed to be on watch had fallen asleep or gone missing.\u00a0 And, of course \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0John wasn\u2019t wearing a PFD.<\/p>\n

All of these factors are what safety trainers tell people not to do when they are on watch.\u00a0 I have to ask anyone else who works like this two questions:\u00a0 \u201cAre you trying to fall overboard without being noticed? \u00a0 Is this inescapable danger?\u201d<\/p>\n

No.\u00a0 This is poor judgment.<\/p>\n

National Fisherman<\/i> Editor Jessica Hathaway recently responded to these two articles in an editorial titled \u201cSanctifying safety at sea.\u201d\u00a0 She suggested that Mario and others shouldn\u2019t compare fishermen to other mariners or dismiss them as cavalier and ignorant because of the risks they take.<\/p>\n

I am inclined to disagree with her.\u00a0 Mario\u2019s article wasn\u2019t only about the comparison of fishermen to other mariners.\u00a0 It also was his response to the attitude that \u201cIt\u2019s too difficult to work in a PFD,\u201d something I’ve heard fishermen say.\u00a0 He points out that other mariners perform arduous work while wearing PFDs.<\/p>\n

Jessica also suggests that the cost of PFDs make them economically difficult for some fishermen to purchase.\u00a0 But I can quote those who have fallen overboard in cold water, and this is what they say: \u201cYou\u2019re not going to be thinking about the cost of the PFD.\u00a0 You\u2019re just going to be happy you\u2019re wearing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s another thing.\u00a0 I have been on numerous vessels where owners have made the investment and stocked up on all types of PFDs and they are just hanging on hooks, jammed into a locker, or tucked into a shelf.\u00a0 Some of these PFDs are brand new or hardly used.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the cost.\u00a0 It\u2019s an attitude \u2013 Commercial Fishing Disease.<\/p>\n

It takes time to change the safety culture.\u00a0 Yes, I know that.\u00a0 Is the answer to shove more regulations down our throats?\u00a0 No.<\/p>\n

But it is time to recognize the cold, hard facts.\u00a0 We all need to work together to educate, to train, and to foster a major change in attitude about wearing PFDs.<\/p>\n

Mario, myself, and others have witnessed tragedies at sea, the loss of lives.\u00a0 It changes you.\u00a0 Not until you have looked into the eyes of a victim\u2019s mother, father, sister, brother, wife, and children and see the pain and anguish do you realize that we need to do better.<\/p>\n

Jessica put it this way:\u00a0 \u201cIf we want to continue the forward momentum of safety at sea, we have to make it easier for fishermen to understand the risk of not using safety gear and the benefit of investing in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On this point, we agree.<\/p>\n

Fred Mattera
\nNESTCo<\/p>\n


\n<<< BACK TO FISHING VESSEL SAFETY PAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"CFN_2_14cover\"Read the rest and much, much more in the\u00a0February issue of Commercial Fisheries News.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Read online\u00a0immediately and download for future reference.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Fred Mattera \u2013\u00a0 During safety training sessions in December and January each year, I break out the \u201cCold Water Boot Camp USA\u201d DVD.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great tool for reviewing coldwater safety with fishermen now that the water temperature is a frigid 45\u00b0F or less. In the video, selected volunteers agree to immerse themselves in … <\/p>\n

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