Simon Bywater, chief executive of Renaissance of the East Anglian Fisheries Community Interest Company and Brian Chambers, chief executive of the Anglo-Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation will feature in an animated film with the message that ‘safety is better shared’.
“Having lost my cousin at sea, safety is hugely important to me,” said Brian Chambers. “He worked on a small under-10m crabber, similar to my own boat, and that has driven my passion to enhance safety at sea. I hope I can help raise awareness through my involvement in the campaign.”
Simon Bywater shared his advice on preventing MOB incidents. “Think what could go wrong and take preventative actions,” he said. “Do risk assessments, separate ropes, have a knife on you, know what to do if you go over and always wear a life jacket with PLB.”
The animation directs viewers to a range of new online resources, including a MOB toolkit which can be saved on mobile devices, case studies and short films featuring fishermen and RNLI trainers.
Launched by the Home and Dry Safety Forum, the campaign targets the reduction of fatalities in commercial fishing—a sector recognised as one of the UK’s most dangerous, with 47 fatalities in the last decade.
The campaign will be active on Instagram and Facebook throughout the month, encouraging the commercial fishing community to engage and improve safety at sea.
