Guidelines for Health and Safety on Board Small Fishing Boats

An important part of planning for your trip is looking at what happens on land if things go wrong for you on the boat:

• Make sure someone on land knows where you are heading, how long you are away at sea, and when you are due back.
• Set up a regular (every 24 hours) communication/contact schedule (cellphone/vessel radio) with someone on land or maritime radio.
• Have a plan in place for the person on land to follow if you miss a scheduled contact or are at sea longer than expected.
• Remember: it is best that someone knows your intended plan (even if this changes) rather than no-one notices you are missing.

Before leaving port, your vessel must be ready and capable to travel:

• The vessel must be sea worthy. The vessel must be watertight and equipment must be secured. Vessel stability is improved if fuel and water tanks are full, the boom is down, and weights (such as nets) are kept low.
• All cargo, fuel containers and other supplies must be safely stored and secured.
• The vessel must be safely ballasted.
• Consideration must be given to current and forecast weather conditions.

Before sailing check the essential items and equipment every time. These are included in SSM manuals or logs. An example is shown below.

The list can be adapted as necessary to suit each vessel.

To work through the list with an inexperienced crew member is very good for their training!