Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the
questions we are asked. If you still
have a question after reading these then please submit a question through the
“Contact FishSAFE” page
Questions
Answers
"If you operate a vessel for commercial purposes (hire or reward) you are obligated to
participate in a safe ship management programme. However, participation in an SSM programme does not
remove from you the responsibilities and obligation placed upon you by the Health and Safety Employment
Act, the Maritime Transport Act, and Maritime Rules, particularly Rule Part 21. Should an accident
occur to your vessel and/or crew it is the owner/skipper who will suffer potential prosecution and not
your SSM provider. The onus is therefore on you to be fully conversant with, and apply safe
working practices on your vessel. The FISHSAFE Safety Passport provides you with the guidelines
and training to help you manage your health and safety risk yourself."
"Accidents are costly to everyone involved and usually more costly than the process
involved to prevent them from happening in the first place. The FISHSAFE Safety Passport process has been set
up to provide the necessary training and support to prevent accidents and injuries from occurring with minimal
cost to the participants apart from one day of time to attend the training in your home port. An added advantage is that it gives you the opportunity to apply for a 10% reduction in your ACC levies for you and your crew who have implemented the processes."
There are two types of FishSAFE Safety Passports. The first, for Owners/Skippers, shows that
you have attended a one-day workshop covering injury prevention on board small
fishing boats, and that you have worked with a FishSAFE “mentor” to implement
the Guidelines for Safe Working Practice on board your boat. The second, for Crew, shows that you have
actively participated with the Owner/Skipper of your boat to put the Guidelines
in place. To apply for the Safety
Passport you need to fill out a self-assessment form which is your chance to
show how you have applied the Guidelines to become safer.
There are three steps to getting your FishSAFE Safety
Passport (as an owner/skipper). First,
you need to attend a FishSAFE workshop. These will be one-day workshops held in ports around the country and
will have no direct cost associated with them. Secondly, you need to work with a FishSAFE ‘mentor’ to implement the
Guidelines on your boat. These mentors
will be locally based and you will not be charged for their time. There may be costs for you in getting your
boat up to scratch, but nothing that is not already required under legislation
and maritime rules. The third step is
filling out a self-assessment form to submit to ACC to prove that you have applied the Guidelines in your workplace and that you are eligible for a levy discount. The mentor will work with you
to fill out the form, and there is no charge to apply for the ACC discount.
The workshops will be carried out in ports around the
country. There will be a FishSAFE
representative in each port who will set up the workshops whenever there are
sufficient interested people to run one. Trainers (including past fishermen) will travel to you.
Mentors will be available in each port.
No. The workshops
cover the general principles and processes of injury prevention and hazard
management. The type of fishing you do
on your boat doesn’t matter – what matters is the process you go through to
make your boat a safe place to work on.
The workshops are for
owners and skippers. Crew can qualify for their FishSAFE passport simply by working with you to implement the Guidelines
on the boat. As the owner/skipper, you must ensure that your crew paricipate in and complete safety and induction training or briefings and that they contibute to hazard ID and management processes on your vessel. Crew members must complete a separate self-assessment form which must then be approved by ACC, a FishSAFE Passport can then be issued to the crew member.
Even the most experienced fisherman can learn how to do
things better or more safely. The
Guidelines contain advice from experienced fishermen about how they have kept
themselves safe. Taking the time to
implement the Guidelines process and gaining a FishSAFE Safety Passport can
save you from an accident in the future and will also help you demonstrate your
commitment to safety to your crew and to the government.
Holding a FishSAFE Safety Passport is proof that you have completed the requirements to apply for a
10% reduction in your current ACC levies. How this is calculated is explained in the following link.
ACC levies are set based on the numbers of injuries that
occur across the whole of the industry – so even if you have never claimed
ACC benefits, you still pay the same as everyone else in the commercial fishing
group. Gaining a FishSAFE Safety
Passport is the one way you can prove to ACC that you are a safe operator, and
be rewarded for that effort.
Yes. The FishSAFE Safety Passport is specific to the
individual owner/skipper, crew member, not the boat.
The FishSAFE Safety Passport will last
forever, but you will occasionally be asked to fill out a self-assessment on
your implementation of the Guidelines, and you may be audited by ACC. Maritime NZ will also check during their
routine audits/inspections that you are continuing to work to the Guidelines.
Workshops are currently being held in locations around the country. Mentors will be based around the ports and will arrange workshops for owners and skippers. If you are interested in being a mentor or participating in the workshops once they begin, email training@fishsafe.org.nz, or for more information click here.
FishSAFE mentors will eventually become available in all ports throughout New Zealand to assist you in the process of applying the Guidelines. If you would like to contact a FishSAFE mentor you can do so by emailing training@fishsafe.org.nz for further details.