IFA Aquaculture Welcomes Minister Coveney’s Water Safety Initiative

IFA Aquaculture, the body which represents marine fish and shellfish farmers, has welcomed today’s (Thursday) initiative by Minister for the Marine, Simon Coveney, to highlight the need for constant vigilance when it comes to safety at sea and in particular the wearing of lifejackets.

“Speaking at the Minister’s announcement in Howth, IFA Aquaculture Executive Secretary, Richie Flynn, said that safety at sea had to be a priority for every company working on the water. “The Irish aquaculture sector has a good record on sea safety, mainly due to ongoing training and high awareness of safety issues by management. Many Irish fish farms operate a policy of fining staff who do not observe strict lifejacket rules when working at sea, either feeding, grading, maintenance or harvesting work.”

“Minister Coveney, given his own experiences at sea, is right to keep the safety issue as high as possible in people’s minds, given the potentially distracting stresses and strains of work and weather. IFA Aquaculture supports this initiative and will promote it among our own members with the help of BIM.”