During the early part of 2012, Seafood Cornwall Training will be launching the new Seafish 3 Week Introduction to Fishing Course, aimed at new entrants to the fishing industry.

The course is designed to encourage new entrants into the fishing industry. It will ensure that new entrants are trained to a level higher than the minimum legal requirements, whilst equipping them with essential basic skills to begin working at sea, in a safe and useful manner.

Funding has been secured from Seafish and from the European Fisheries Fund to enable this training to be provided free of charge, to a limited number of candidates in Cornwall.

Under existing legislation*, new entrants to the UK fishing industry are only required to undertake a 1-day Sea Survival training course before commencing work as commercial fishermen. If they decide to stay in the industry, they then have three months within which to undertake three additional 1-day courses covering Health & Safety, First Aid and Fire Fighting.
(*Fishing Vessels (Safety Training) Regulations 1989 (as amended by SI 2004 No. 2169) SDP Page 2 of 5 10 May 2011)

It is hoped that the 3-week course will become the accepted entry route for all new entrants into the UK fishing industry and a stepping stone for progression onto Apprenticeship programmes.

Upon completion of the course, beneficiaries will receive a pack of relevant information. This will serve to reinforce best practice, allowing the new entrants to build on their new knowledge, and include recommendations on further training that they should undertake (particularly Apprenticeships).
Beneficiaries completing the course will be issued with a credit card sized, plastic new entrant fisherman photo-ID card from Seafish, evidencing their achievement.

The course will consist of two weeks shore-based training, followed by one week of mandatory safety courses (Sea Survival, Fire Fighting, First Aid, Health and Safety).

Course overview:
Weeks 1 and 2:

• Onboard procedures
• Safety
• Ropes, knots and splicing
• Fishing gear, net mending and gear construction
• Boat handling, watch keeping, navigation and stability
• Engineering
• Galley duties and food hygiene
• Catch handling and storage

Week 3:
Mandatory Basic Safety Training (all one day courses):

• Seafish Sea Survival / Personal Survival Techniques STCW 95
• Elementary First Aid STCW95
• Seafish Basic Fire Fighting and Prevention
• Seafish Health and Safety for Fishermen

By increasing the availability of (well trained) new entrants, skippers will not have to tie up due to lack of crew or sail with insufficient crew to safely conduct their fishing operations.

This project has the support of the Fishing Industry Safety Group, which includes representatives from the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, the Northern Ireland Fishermen's Federation, the Department for Transport, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.