This is the view of Derek Cardno, Safety Officer for the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), who says the positive feedback from the nine fishermen who attended the Seafish funded course has emphasised the importance of further training in personal development and career progression.
“I was impressed by the delivery of the ECDIS course and the enthusiastic manner it was received by the participants,” he says. “It was another excellent example of the strong working relationship that exists between Seafish, The Scottish Maritime Academy and the SFF to improve fishing safety in Scotland.”
One of those who participated in the course was Jony Strachan of the Peterhead registered fishing vessel, Ocean Harvest. He commented: "The course was an excellent hands-on experience that provided a great depth of knowledge of the ECDIS programme enabling us to put it to full use for safe future navigation."
Fishermen from the whitefish, prawn and pelagic sectors were all represented on the ECDIS course, underlining the broad appeal of such training.
Derek Cardno added: “We currently have another 30 fishermen keen to take part in in further training, which shows that if the course is right, then there will be no shortage of recruits eager to attend. I’m hopeful that further funding can be secured so that a long-term plan can be put in place to give fishermen the opportunity to do this important training. The SFF strongly believes that excellent training such as the ECDIS course delivered by the SMA will reduce accidents and incidents in the fishing industry.”
Fishermen present at the training at the Scottish Maritime Academy in Peterhead expressed their appreciation to the Scottish Fishermen’s Trust for the financial grant assistance given for attending the course.
