In another key moment to mark Maritime Safety Week last week, and its commitment to supporting Safer Working Lives at Sea, The Seafarers’ Charity has announced sponsorship of a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fisheries meeting – focused on fishing safety.

The meeting, to be held on Tuesday 24^th October and Chaired by Sheryll Murray MP – a vocal advocate for safe fishing practices – will highlight a range of initiatives, both nationally and internationally, aimed at improving the safety of all who work in commercial fishing, including those supported by the Charity. The APPG will draw on expertise from those working in fishing communities, examining safety management practices and regulations. A number of speakers will address the meeting – which is free and will be open to delegates from across the fisheries sector.

The Seafarers’ Charity’s Chief Executive, Deborah Layde, commented: 

“We are really pleased to announce our support for this upcoming parliamentary event. We’ve been developing really innovative work in partnership with industry and others to help improve fishing safety. The upcoming APPG meeting will be a valuable opportunity to share our approach to fishing safety and hear from others across the sector on their priorities in this area.”     

The Seafarers’ Charity’s mission is focused on five key ‘strategic outcome’ areas for those who work at sea: enhanced financial resilience; better working lives at sea; improved health and well-being for seafarers; increased social justice, and; safer working lives at sea. 

Underscoring the importance of fishing safety Maritime Minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton has lent her support to the event, by saying: 

“The Seafarers’ Charity is dedicated to fishing safety and thanks to its efforts, this important topic will be tabled for discussion as part of the Fisheries All Parliamentary Party Group programme. It is vital that we build on the momentum to protect fishers and this event will continue to shine the spotlight on the importance of sharing best practices to improve fishing safety in the future, particularly as we approach the more challenging fishing months during autumn and winter.”

APPG Chair Sheryll Murray MP confirmed she anticipated a ‘truly important discussion – providing a timely update to our previous APPG meeting on fishing safety held in 2020’ adding ‘it’s so important to gather new insights, updates on regulation, and personal experiences about staying safe at sea, to prevent tragedies that can devastate families and communities’.

The full programme for the event, which is to be held on Tuesday 24^th October at 10.00, will be announced by the APPG on Fisheries in the coming weeks.

Read more about The Seafarers’ Charity work on fishing safety at: https://www.theseafarerscharity.org/what-we-do/our-influence/fishing-safety.

Look out for further event details at: https://www.fisheriesappg.org/meetings.