WorkSafe BC introduces new safety rules for commercial fishing

The provincial agency tasked with making working conditions safer in British Columbia has brought in a new regulation for the commercial fishing industry in British Columbia, making the wearing of personal Flotation Devices or lifejackets mandatory for all who work on deck on commercial fishing vessels,

The details of the new regulation was introduced yesterday as an amendment to existing health and safety regulations related to safety on fishing vessels.

The amendments to Part 24 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation took effect on June 3rd.

As part of their announcement of Wednesday, WorkSafe BC outlined statistics which note that between 2007 and 2018 there were 24 work related deaths in the commercial fishing industry, with 15 of them related to drowning.


“Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in British Columbia and drowning is the leading cause of death among B.C. fishermen. Wearing a PFD reduces the risk of drowning and has been proven to save lives.” -- Patrick Olsen, Manager, Prevention Field Services for WorkSafeBC.

More background on Wednesday's announcement can be found here.

Some resource material for the commercial fishing industry is also available here.

For more items of note on the fishing industry see our archive page here, while our Legislature archive provides more background on other provincial government initiatives.