Service NL
May 30, 2014
Committed to the Safety and Protection of Fish Harvesters
Board Members Appointed to the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association
Eleven new members have been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association (NL-FHSA) representing crew members, owners/operators, unions and industry groups. The NL-FHSA is committed to reducing workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities in the fish harvesting industry.
“As a government, we are pleased to work with owners, crew members and unions to make the harvesting sector a safer one. By reviewing our past efforts and identifying where improvements need to be made, we can ensure we have a safer industry given the often dangerous nature of the work. Safety always has to be paramount and never an afterthought. The individuals who comprise the Board of Directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association will ensure safety is a major consideration in the harvesting sector.”
- The Honourable Dan Crummell, Minister of Service NL and Minister Responsible for the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission
Over $1.3 million in funding has been provided to the NL-FHSA, over a five-year period, to support the association’s delivery of education and awareness programs to help instill a culture of safety for harvesters. The Provincial Government has provided $500,000 while the fish harvesting industry— including industry representatives, the Professional Fish Harvesters’ Certification Board (PFHCB), and the Fisherman’s Benefit Trust— have contributed $585,000. In addition, the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission has contributed $253,060.
“Focusing on the health and safety of those involved in the fish harvesting sector is very important, to the fishers, their families and their communities. At the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission, we strongly believe that workplace injuries are preventable. Working with the new board members of NL-FHSA we can help to ensure that our fish harvesters are safe, so they can return to their families and the next fishing season.”
- Leslie Galway, CEO, Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission
Biographies of the members of the Board of Directors are included in the Backgrounder below.
QUICK FACTS
- The NL-FHSA was incorporated in October 2012.
- Eleven new board members have been appointed to the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesters Safety Association.
- The board members represent crew members, owners/operators, processors, unions and industry groups, as well as ex-offico members from the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
- The fish harvesting sector has an injury rate which has increased by 22 per cent over the past 10 years, from 1.8 to 2.2 lost-time incidents per 100 workers from 2004 to 2013.
- The NL-FHSA is committed to reducing workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities in the fish harvesting industry.
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Media contact: Vanessa Colman-Sadd Director of Communications Service NL 709-729-4860, 682-6593 vanessacolmansadd@gov.nl.ca |
Carla Riggs, Director of Communications Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission 709-778-1590 carla.riggs@whscc.nl.ca |
BACKGROUNDER
Biographies
Below are the biographies of the members of the Board of Directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association.
Crew Member <40' Fleet - Mildred Skinner
Mildred Skinner, from Harbour Breton, has been a full-time fish harvester for 24 years, fishing as a crew member with her husband and sons in their family fishing enterprise. She has experience on a variety of vessels (open and closed vessels) in the <40' fleet and has fished a variety of species including crab, lobster, pelagics and ground fish in NAFA area 3Ps. She is a certified Level II fish harvester with the Professional Fish Harvesters’ Certification Board (PFHCB) and holds certificates in Small Vessel Operator Proficiency, Marine Emergency Duties and Marine First Aid. Since 2002, Ms. Skinner has been actively promoting and delivering community-based safety training to inshore fish harvesters. She is a certified Marine First Aid Instructor, and is certified by Transport Canada to deliver Marine Emergency Duties (MED A3) training. Mildred is a long-standing advocate of women's equality (both in fisheries and the broader community). She is co-chair of the Fish Food and Allied Workers/Canadian Auto Workers (FFAW/CAW) Women's Committee and is a trained community women's advocate and facilitator. Since 1995, she has been an elected member of the FFAW Inshore Council and holds the Affirmative Action seat on the FFAW Executive Board. She is also a member of the PFHCB Board of Directors.
Crew Member >40' Fleet – Mike Noonan
Mike Noonan, from Bay de Verde, has been a full-time fish harvester and crew member for more than 40 years. He has spent the past 30 years as a full-time crew member in the over 40' fishing fleet in NAFO area 3L, with experience fishing shrimp, crab, and ground fish. During that time he also had experience as a crew member on factory freezer trawlers. He is certified as a Level II fish harvester with the PFHCB and he holds all Transport Canada certifications required for his crew position, including Marine First Aid, Marine Emergency Duties (MED AI), Radio Operators Certificate - Maritime Commercial (ROC-MC), as well as a Transport Canada Certificate of Service as watch-keeping mate on a fishing vessel not more than 24 metres. Mr. Noonan has experience serving on numerous fisheries and marine-related committees including his local harbour authority and the 3L full¬-time crab committee. He is a valued crew member representative on the FFAW Inshore Council and FFAW Executive Board member. Mr. Noonan is also a member of the Board of Directors of the PFHCB and has been a member of the Canadian Marine Advisory Council representing the PFHCB.
Crew Member, Offshore Fleet – Eli Baker
Eli Baker, from Grand Bank, has been a deep-sea trawler for 27 years and has worked in many different capacities as a crew member in the offshore fishing fleet. He has experience with a range of companies, species, gear types, machinery, technologies and vessel designs in the offshore sector. In addition to being a certified Level II fish harvester with the PFHCB, he holds a variety of certification and training certificates relevant to his employment in the offshore sector including Marine Emergency Duties (MED A1, B1 and B2), Marine First Aid, Otter Trawl Design, Construction and Repair and a variety of other training delivered by Deep-sea Training Inc. He has been an advocate of crew member safety and has promoted safe working conditions on offshore vessels for many years. He is a long-standing member of the FFAW/CAW Bargaining Committee, representing his peers in union contract negotiations and has been a member of numerous safety committees on the offshore vessels. He also sits as an elected member of the FFAW/CAW Industrial Retail Offshore Council, representing the interests of crew members in the offshore fishing fleet.
Owner/Operator, <40’ Fleet – Andre Jesso
Andre Jesso, from Lourdes, has been a full-time fish harvester since the age of 17 and has been the owner/operator of his own <40' fishing enterprise for more than 30 years. During that time, he has owned and worked on vessels of both open and closed construction and has experience fishing every commercial species available to the small-boat fleet in NAFO areas 4R3Pn. He is a certified Level II fish harvester with the PFHCB and holds all required Transport Canada Certification to operate his under 40' vessel, including Marine Emergency Duties (MED A3), Small Vessel Operator Proficiency and Marine First Aid. Andre also has training and 10 years experience as a volunteer firefighter and has experience with safety committees in the construction industry, where he has worked in his off-seasons. He has been involved with his local fishermen's committee for 20 years and is also a member of the 3-¬Rock Cove-Mainland harbour authority. Mr. Jesso is currently the elected member of the FFAW Inshore Council, representing fish harvesters in NAFO area 4R from Highlands to Cox's Cove.
Owner/Operator, >40' Fleet - Jack Greenham
Jack Greenham, from Comfort Cove, has been a full-time fish harvester for 33 years and the owner/operator of an over 40' fishing vessel for 29 years. He currently owns and operates a 65' fishing vessel in NAFO area 3K where he fishes for crab, shrimp, pelagics and ground fish. In addition to being a certified Level II fish harvester with the PFHCB, Mr. Greenham holds a Diploma of Nautical Science, a Fishing Master Class I Certificate, a Master Near Coastal Certificate and a Bachelor of Maritime Studies Degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. When he is not fishing, Mr. Greenham is a sessional instructor at the Fisheries and Marine Institute where he has been teaching fisheries navigation and safety since 1999. He has also been involved in fisheries curriculum design and has been heavily involved in recent safety initiatives such as the Stability E-Simulator project and Fishing Masters Distance Learning programs. Mr. Greenham has been involved in a number of fisheries-related committees including a communications committee with the PFHCB, Chair of his local Newstead-Comfort Cove harbour authority and a Fisheries Advisory Committee for his federal Member of Parliament. Mr. Greenham has also been an active member of the Canadian Coast Guard Marine Rescue Auxiliary since 1986.
Owner/Operators, Offshore - Captain Wade Short
Captain Wade Short is an operator for the Labrador Fisherman’s Union Shrimp Company Limited (LFUSC). He has been a professional fish harvester for his entire working life and has been operating offshore vessels for the LFUSC for the past two decades. He currently holds a Fishing Masters Class 1, the highest level of master certification available through Transport Canada. Captain Short has an impeccable safety record with the LFUSC and has a reputation as being a very safety-oriented individual who takes pride in doing what he can to contribute to the success of the LFUSC.
Processors - Phil Barnes
Phil Barnes has worked with the Fogo Island Cooperative Society Limited and is currently General Manager. Mr. Barnes graduated from the Food Technology Program at the Marine Institute of Newfoundland. He has held numerous senior level positions across all food sectors over the course of his career including Corporate Quality Assurance Manager and Plant Manager with several seafood companies in Newfoundland and Labrador. He has also worked as a Departmental Manager with Heinz Canada in Ontario, Plant Manager with Parmalat Foods, a dairy company in Ontario, Production Manager with Weston Bakeries in Ontario and Vice President of Manufacturing with Freybe Gourmet Foods, a meat processing company in British Columbia. He has also worked as a consultant for Accucaps Industries, a Nutraceutical Company in Windsor, Ontario and the Department of Natural Resources for the Fresh Water Fisheries in Ontario. Mr. Barnes now resides on Fogo Island.
Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board - Mark Dolomount
Mark Dolomount is the Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board (PFHCB). A graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland, Mr. Dolomount has 20 years experience managing major fisheries-related projects at the provincial and national level. Throughout his professional career, he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fishing industry safety and is recognized as having an in-depth and multi-faceted knowledge of fishing industry safety, including fisheries safety curriculum/training, safety research and development, regulatory requirements and operational safety. He has participated in numerous fisheries safety-related steering committees and working groups and is currently Chair of the Safety Committee of the Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters and industry Co-chair of the Canadian Marine Advisory Council National Standing Committee on Fishing Vessel Safety.
Fish Food and Allied Workers - David Decker
David Decker is a native of Ship Cove on the Northern Peninsula. He began his career in the province’s fishing industry in a direct, hands-on manner through his involvement in a small-boat family fishing enterprise initially as a crewmember and eventually as an owner-operator. Mr. Decker joined the staff of the FFAW/CAW and spent 12 years in the role of west coast staff representative. He became the union’s Inshore Director in 2002 and in 2003, was elected to the position of secretary-treasurer, the second highest position in the FFAW. He continues to serve the Newfoundland and Labrador fishing industry in that capacity today. Mr. Decker has also lent his time and expertise to fishing industry-related groups and committees such as the tripartite steering committee between harvesters, processors and the Provincial Government for the Memorandum of Understanding on fishing industry restructuring in Newfoundland and Labrador and the committee leading the Canadian Capture Fisheries Research Network initiative under the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Mr. Decker was instrumental in the development and delivery of the FFAW Lifeline Safety Course, designed to advance safety among fish harvesters in the inshore sector. He has served on several safety committees and initiatives such as the Small Fishing Vessel Safety Committee and he continues to serve nationally with initiatives of the Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters. Mr. Decker advocated for the establishment of industry safety councils (committees) during the development of the Provincial Accident Strategy, and he played a key role in the development of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association.
Ex Officio, Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission – Brenda Greenslade
Brenda Greenslade has worked in the field of health and safety for the past 35 years in health care and community care, post-secondary education, the utility industry and she has been working at the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission for the past 14 years, currently in the capacity of Executive Director, Employer Services. She also teaches Safety Engineering part-time as a sessional instructor at the College of the North Atlantic and holds designations as a Canadian Registered Safety Professional and as a Certified Occupational Health Nurse. She has served as past president of the Association of Occupational Health Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the Canadian Occupational Health Nurses Association and has been a board member of Safety Services Newfoundland and Labrador, Safety Engineering and the Provincial Apprenticeship Board. Currently, she serves as a member of the Regional Screening Committee for the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals, the Occupational Health Nursing Certification Committee for the Canadian Nurses Association and is serving a second term as a member of the Board of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Safety Association.
Ex Officio, Provincial Government - Krista Quinlan
Krista Quinlan is the Assistant Deputy Minister of Fisheries (A) with the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. She is the former Vice-President with the Research & Development Corporation (RDC) of Newfoundland and Labrador where she was responsible for leading the corporation in policy, evaluation and government relations and served as corporate secretary. Prior to RDC, she worked in policy roles with the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat and Cabinet Secretariat. She is an active volunteer with Scouts Canada and Girl Guides of Canada and holds Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland.
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