'Live to Tell The Tale'

Fifty-three fishermen have lost their lives at sea over the last 10 years. In 2015 alone, there were four fatal fishing related accidents in the sector.

Supporting the launch of the campaign, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney said: “This is a very effective campaign with a strong and hard-hitting message. I hope that fishing families across the country will get behind it and encourage their loved ones to wear their Personal Flotation Devices when they head out on their boats to help ensure they return home safely.”

According to BIM commissioned research undertaken by Behaviour and Attitudes, more than 36% of fishermen personally know a colleague who has been lost at sea. However, despite this, over half of these fishermen still do not wear a Personal Flotation Device when at sea. The ‘Live to Tell the Tale’ campaign is looking to reverse this trend by promoting a behaviour change to motivate and encourage fishermen to take part in survival training and wear their Personal Flotation Devices at all times while on board their fishing vessel.

The PFD with an integrated Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is a Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled lifejacket available through BIM’s Safety Training programme. The PFD which activates in the water means fishermen can be found swiftly in the event of an accident and hopefully found alive. Traditional life jackets don’t use this technology meaning searches at sea can last days longer than is necessary adding to the anxiety felt by families of fishermen.

The ‘Live to Tell the Tale’ campaign will run across the country over the next four weeks. BIM will be running a full schedule of ‘Live to Tell the Tale’ Safety Training Courses around the coast to coincide with the campaign and throughout the year. The full schedule of courses is available here.