Fishing vessel death prompts calls for better safety oversight

The death of a Pond Inlet man aboard a fishing vessel in 2021 has led to a call to review oversight of occupational health and safety on fishing vessels in the territories.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada made that recommendation Thursday, after investigating the death of Emmanuel Maktar, 24.

Maktar fell overboard and drowned while working aboard the Suvak, a 28-metre-long Arctic Fishery Alliance vessel, on Aug. 26, 2021, in Davis Strait about 120 nautical miles northeast of Qikiqtarjuaq.

Maktar was identified as the victim by Arctic Fishery Alliance shortly after the incident.

In its report, the safety board said two crew members had been awake for more than 21 consecutive hours, hauling and setting nets, with only one break.

They were experiencing “sleep-related fatigue which reduced their cognitive abilities, including their ability to remain vigilant against risks,” the report said.

One of the crew members was setting nets aboard the Suvak. His arm became entangled in the buoy line and he was pulled overboard when the nets were thrown.

He was recovered from the water but lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful.

The safety board recommends Transport Canada, in collaboration with the federal Department of Employment and Social Development and the territorial governments, carry out the review.

“We’ve identified that there is currently no regulatory oversight by any government body for occupational health and safety for vessels registered in any of the territories, Nunavut, Northwest Territories or the Yukon,” board chairperson Kathy Fox said in an interview Thursday.

She said the gap in responsibility for oversight puts fish harvesters at risk.

Fox said two federal agencies — Transport Canada and the employment and social development department — believe the jurisdiction falls to the territories. Meanwhile, she said, the territories believe it belongs to Transport Canada.

“What we want is for the two federal departments, Transport Canada and Employment and Social Development, to collaborate with the territories to sort this out so that somebody is providing effective safety oversight of commercial fishery harvesters in the north.”

Jason Melvin, the safety board investigator in charge, said that as a result of the investigation the Arctic Fisheries Alliance has addressed gaps in its own system.

“They’re using a different style of personal flotation device,” he said.

“Fishers are equipped with rope-cutting knives so they can cut themselves free if they become entangled, they’ve changed the process of how they set the net so there is less manual handling, an extra supervisor is required” are among the changes, Melvin said.

The federal ministers of transportation and employment and social development now have 90 days to respond to the recommendation.

The safety board also made the recommendation to the territories. Even though they are not under the same legal obligation to respond, Fox expects they will.

“We hope the two federal departments and three territorial governments will sit down together and figure out who is going to do this to avoid putting fish harvesters in the north at risk.”