Fisheries and Aquaculture
March 7, 2007

Vessel Safety Workshop Met With Tremendous Enthusiasm and Success

Following a workshop devoted solely to fishing vessel safety, there now exists a heightened awareness of the issue among harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Honourable Tom Rideout, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, says he is pleased with the outcomes of a vessel safety workshop hosted by his department last week in Gander. In excess of 50 fishermen and over 30 officials from various safety regulatory agencies came together for the two day seminar.

�Last week�s workshop was unique in that it focused solely on vessel safety,� said Minister Rideout. �While this issue has always been taken very seriously by all parties involved, it has been rare for seminars to be organized where vessel safety is the only topic open for discussion. I congratulate all individuals who took the initiative to take part in this important gathering, and the attendance alone speaks to the remarkable success of this venture. I thank the department for its efforts, and would also like to recognize the contributions of the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI), the Marine Institute and Memorial University.�

Over 20 presentations were given during the workshop, from fish harvesters and officials from various provincial and federal government departments and agencies.

�CCFI is very pleased to have been an active contributor and participant in this workshop� said CCFI Managing Director, Carey Bonnell. �As an organization we have identified vessel safety and operational productivity as a key pillar of our mandate and we look forward to launching new industry driven initiatives over the coming months as a follow-up to last week�s workshop.�

�Our government is extremely pleased to have been able to facilitate this very worthwhile initiative,� said Minister Rideout. �We have always supported increased vessel safety, and we particularly believe that harvesters should have the flexibility to use appropriate vessels to reduce risk. In moving forward, we will continue to make fishing vessel safety a top priority, and to that end, we are looking to bring this workshop to other regions of the province later in the year, to ensure that all fish harvesters throughout Newfoundland and Labrador can avail of this opportunity.�

The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture contributed $20,000 toward this initiative. CCFI was a partner in the project, and made a contribution of $10,000.

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Media contact:
Lori Lee Oates
Director of Communications
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
709-729-3733, 690-8403
oatesll@gov.nl.ca

2007 03 07                                                     10:00 a.m.


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