Fishers urged to use life jackets that meet international standards

The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) is urging fishers to secure life jackets that align with international standards, before going out to sea.

Facilitator in the NFA’s Safety at Sea Training Programme and Head of the Caribbean Maritime University’s (CMU) Department of Professional Training and Certification in the Faculty of Marine and Nautical Studies, Kyle Shaw, said many fishers do not know what a life jacket is, that is in accordance with these standards.

“For example, a lot of them think a life jacket is something you simply buy from the store and you put it on and that’s a life jacket. No. There’s a rule that says a life jacket must be a specific colour, like orange. It must have reflective tapes, a whistle, light, and it must be able to keep you afloat for a specific period of time. This is why training is important, because some persons will go to sea with the wrong tools, and it can end up costing them their lives,” he said.

Shaw was speaking at a JIS Think Tank, held at the agency’s Television Department, 5-9 South Odeon Avenue, in St Andrew.

He said that in addition to education on equipment and gear, the training programme teaches fishers critical survival techniques.

“We show them basic things like how to generate fresh water at sea with basic tools, such as a bucket and a piece of plastic bag. In the training they learn firefighting techniques which also upskill them to be able to protect lives at sea in terms of extinguishing fires that they would typically encounter on their voyage. They also learn basic navigation techniques and first aid techniques, such as having the different types of equipment,” he said.

The five-year programme began in 2022, with this year’s budget set at $7 million to facilitate licensed fishers islandwide, free of cost.

Meanwhile, for the future of the programme,Shaw hopes that training can include free diving.

“In terms of the training though, what I realised is that a lot of the fisher folks that are being trained now are free divers. This is something that we’ll have to look at in the future in terms of some of the safety aspects that they have to take into consideration when they do that,” he said.

For more information, persons can call the National Fisheries Authority at (876) 948-9014.

- JIS News

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