The safety of those working on-board fishing vessels is of paramount importance. My Department has implemented a range of measures, administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), to support safety training specifically, and fleet safety more generally.
Fishing Vessel (Basic Safety Training) Regulations, 2001 (S.I. 587 of 2001) require all fishing vessel crew members to undergo Basic Safety Training. As part of this training, participants must complete both written and practical examinations. All non-native English speakers who wish to undertake the Fishing (Deck or Engine) Certificate of Competency must undertake the ‘Marlins’ English language test before commencing the course.
BIM delivers safety training courses at its National Fisheries Colleges. In 2020 the ISO 9001:2015 Certification was awarded to BIM’s National Fisheries College of Ireland for the delivery of Maritime Training and Education. Attaining this internationally recognised standard for quality management systems, ensures that prospective students can be certain any training they receive across all of BIM’s training sites will be of a consistently high standard.
BIM also administers the Seafood Training Scheme, which provides funding supports to those undertaking relevant training with other training providers. Full details of this scheme, along with comprehensive information in relation to safety training courses and related online resources are available on BIM's website at the following link: https://bim.ie/fisheries/training/
Aside from safety training, BIM administers the Fleet Safety Scheme. This scheme supports the maintenance and improvement of overall safety standards onboard Irish fishing vessels, through the provision of grant aid for investment in safety measures on-board.
