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Contact:
Julita Peter
Wednesday, January 19, 2005 - The Department of Fisheries in the Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has made a strong appeal to boat owners,
fishers and the fishermen’s cooperative to ensure that all fishing vessels are
equipped with the necessary safety gear, especially as the peak deep sea fishing
season approaches.
Stressing the necessity for safety gear at sea, Chief Fishers Officer, Vaughn
Charles said the essential gear would greatly assist fishers in the event of a
mishap out at sea: “Very often the department of fishers has been blamed for not
providing fishermen with the necessary safety equipment. We want to call on all
boat owners and fishermen and tell them that the responsibility to provide
safety equipment rests solely with them. And we are asking those boat owners
especially, to take their responsibilities seriously and provide the necessary
equipment, as is required under the Fisheries Act.
Mr. Charles said an inspection routine carried out recently found some fishing
vessels without safety equipment, resulting in the guilty persons being charged
for the offence.
Last year the Department of Fisheries had to respond to a number of
eventualities at sea which it would not like repeated.
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