Weedlines Cause Concerns

WorkSafeBC (WCB) has received reports of hazards in the use of weedlines on salmon gillnets. This WorkSafe Bulletin outlines the responsibilities of vessel masters and crew on gillnet vessels and offers some engineering and administrative solutions to the reported hazards.

Variations in design and construction of fishing vessels make it difficult to regulate the specific use and operation of fishing gear. Therefore vessel masters and owners must be diligent in assessing hazards associated with the use of gear on their vessels. Section 24.71(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires the owner to ensure that all machinery and equipment on board the vessel is capable of safely performing the functions for which it is used. Further, section 24.73(1)(d) requires that every vessel master properly instruct the vessel's crew in the use of and safe work practice for the vessel's fishing gear.

Reports to WorkSafeBC have stated that the becket required in the construction of weedlines on salmon gillnets pose a risk of entanglement to fishers. Vessel owners and masters must assess this risk on their vessel and address the risk if it does exist. Some suggestions offered by industry are as follows:

• Use a live roller while setting the net. At times, if the leadline is not helped over the stern, it can end up in a pile on the deck of the vessel. While bent down to pick up the leadline, a fisher may become entangled in the beckets if they loop over the fisher's head. A live roller helps to feed the leadline over the stern of the vessel.
• Install a bar across the top of the pin rollers. The beckets on a weedline can be blown over the pin rollers in some circumstances. If this happens, the fisher will be at risk of entanglement or limb entrapment while trying to remove the becket from the pin roller. Placing a bar across the top of the pin rollers ensures that the net is contained within the confines of the pin rollers.
• Consider a setting chute. Using a chute, similar to setting some longline gear, will keep the leadline from piling onto the deck. The chute would have to be designed so that it does not pose other risks and be constructed with regard for loose web and beckets catching on the chute's edges.
• Hold-to-run devices for setting the net. Hold-to-run switches installed on the drum for setting will engage the drum's brake should a fisher become entangled and pulled away from the hold-to-run device. This may decrease the likelihood that a fisher will be pulled overboard.

These are only a few suggestions. There are surely many other effective means of reducing potential hazards of entanglement when operating a gillnet equipped with a weedline.