Get Back Home and Dry for Them

 A new commercial fishing safety campaign has been launched to reduce fatalities and accidents amongst Scotland’s small fishing vessel fleet.  

Under 10 metre vessels make up around 64% of the whole UK’s fishing fleet. Scotland has 38% of the Under 10 metre fleet. 

Data from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) shows that between 2007 and 2022, those working on vessels registered Under 10 metres accounted for 45% of all fishing industry fatalities where the person ended up in the water.

47% of those fatalities on Under 10m vessels were single handed operators. 

Half of all the Man Overboard fatalities in the UK on Under 10 metre vessels were in Scotland.  

The latest Home and Dry campaign from the Fishing Industry Safety Group features Under 10 metre fishing vessel skippers from across the country reflecting on what they miss most when out at sea and what they do to get themselves ‘back home and dry’. The campaign is aiming to improve the safety culture in the fishing industry with adverts, posters and banners appearing at ports including the Highlands, Islands and Aberdeenshire. 

The Fishing Industry Safety Group (FISG), is a group of fishing industry organisations, charities, public bodies, and regulators with a mission of improving the safety of commercial fishing at sea. The group launched the Home and Dry campaign in 2020 to share information and advice on safety at sea.