Fish Safe NS is adding to its portfolio of safety training opportunities for the fishing industry this year.
A vessel stability program is expected to be launched this summer and starting this spring, Fish Safe NS will be offering WHMIS train the trainer and WHMIS general training.
The vessel stability program will be a two-day program with the second day optional, said executive director Dylan Buchanan.
“The first day will be basic, hands-on and practical. Concepts like what it means when your vessel is rolling slowly, what happens if you store catch above deck, how can you load a vessel to reduce risk, etc. By using models and basic hands-on experiments, people would learn about stability without getting into the heavy math and theory behind it. The goal is to break stability down into simple concepts so fishers, both captains and crews, can prevent, identify and correct stability issues. The second day will be more advanced and get into the math while diving a bit more into theory for those who want that. We expect to have the program available in the summer of this year.”
Along with the vessel stability program, new this year for Fish Safe NS will be WHMIS train the trainer and WHMIS general training.
“With the recent changes to WHMIS, we want to help our members and other industry people stay up to date. WHIMIS general training is available now, and train the trainer will be available in late spring,” said Buchanan.
Last fall, Fish Safe NS wrapped up a four-year Hooked on Safety action plan.
“There was a lot of uptake and feedback, but there is always room for improvement,” said Buchanan. “Many items from this plan have become core to the association and we are constantly looking for ways to promote them so the industry is aware. We’ve been reaching out to numerous associations, industry reps and organizations to increase our engagement. This has opened opportunities as they can communicate with all their members on our behalf and, in many cases, help organize training for them, too.”
Buchanan said some resources from the Hooked on Safety plan can be found on the Fish Safe NS website under the Safety Resource and Health Promotion tabs.
“These include Information on harvesting safety, a summary of our How to Build a Safety Program Manual, a Return-to-Work Tool Kit, and information on physical and mental health. As part of this plan, we also mailed members a focused mailout on ergonomics, and we have continued doing wharf-side safety training while adding numerous other safety training programs that we offer in-house,” said Buchanan.
Fish Safe NS continues to offer a safety subsidy program to its members. The subsidy program covers 50 per cent of the cost for the forklift operator training course and provides a rebate on selected safety equipment on a first come, first serve basis, including a life raft inspection rebate, an immersion suit purchase and inspection rebate and a flexible subsidy of $80 for purchases of PFDs, first aid kits, EPIRBs or a defibrillator.
Fish Safe NS continues to distribute copies of its wheelhouse safety logbook and offer monthly virtual training sessions on how to properly fill it out. The training sessions for the remainder of 2025 are scheduled for May 14, June 18, July 16, Aug. 13, Sept. 17, Oct. 22, Nov. 12 and Dec. 10
“Even though there hasn’t been uptake in the virtual option recently, we will continue to offer it, and if even one person wants to take it, then we will run it as scheduled,” said Buchanan.
“We expected the demand to decrease as more people received it; however, it will always be a part of our training programs and available for anyone who wants it.”
The NSCC School of Fisheries in Shelburne offered the wheelhouse safety logbook tutorial to its Fishing Masters students for the first time this spring. “We hope that works out and can be continued in the future,” said Buchanan.
Going into the spring lobster season on Nova’s Scotia’s eastern shore, Buchanan said Fish Safe NS was making plans to perform vessel drills and WHMIS training in multiple locations.
“As seasons open and others continue to operate, we hope everyone stays safe and has a prosperous season. If anyone has safety-related questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help,” said Buchanan.
