Specified Skills
Educational Textbook for the Fishing Industry Skills Proficiency Test(Fishing)(Safety Section)

Japan Fisheries Association(First Edition: December 2019)Table of Contents
1. Clothing Safety ······················································································ 1
2. Boarding Safety ······················································································ 2
3. On-Board Behavior ················································································· 34. Safety Signs ··························································································· 35. Accident Prevention Measures ·································································· 66. Crisis Response for Falling Overboard ······················································· 7

1. Clothing Safety(1) Protective safety equipment
Wear protective equipment as a safety measure. Wearing the proper clothinghelps maintain safety.
The main protective equipment is as follows.

Dangerous

・Head: Hard hats (helmets)

Safe・Eyes: Glasses or goggles
・Ears: Earplugs or earmuffs
・Face: Face shields
・Hands: Rubber gloves
・Feet: Safety shoes, boots
・Skin: Work clothes (raincoats)・Body: Safety belts for high places

Figure1:Properclothing(left)

anddangerous clothing (right)(2) Work clothes
Wear work clothes with long sleeves that are an appropriate size for your body.
During operations and while on deck, tuck shirttails into pants and securely fasten
sleeve buttons to prevent clothing from getting tangled up in or caught on theequipment. In addition, do not wear open-toed footwear such as slippers andsandals as they are prone to slippage and do not protect the feet from falling objects(Fig. 1).

(3) Hard hats (helmets) and other protective equipment
During operations and work, wear a hard hat to protect the head from bumping
into beams and equipment on the ship, as well as falling objects. Hard hats should1

be worn on the head straight, and the chinstrap must be securely fastened to ensure
safety cannot be maintained unless the chinstrap is securely fastened.
For on-board work, wear gloves, safety shoes, and boots as appropriate. Whenworking on the mast or other high places or conducting operations which involve
reaching outside of the ship, a safety belt or lifeline should be used.

(4) Lifesaving clothing for work (life jackets)During operations and while on deck,

Safe

Safe

wear lifesaving clothing for work or a life
jacket. When wearing thesearticles, securely fasten the zipper or laces
to ensure that they do not come loose(Fig. 2).

Figure 2: Wearing of lifesaving clothing for work.
Over work clothes (left) and over a raincoat (right)(5) Raincoats/Boots

When conducting operations or working in inclement weather, wear a raincoatand boots. The boots used should have soles which are made from slip-resistantmaterials or fitted with slip-resistant structures (Fig. 2).

2. Boarding Safety
・Ensure fishing equipment and tools that have been brought on board are stored
in their designated locations and secure them in place to prevent breakage orscattering due to the motion of the ship sways. Keep the ropes, netting thread,and netting fabric materials organized.
・Keep hatch covers securely closed, and do not stand on top of partially opened2covers.
・Keep boots, raincoats, buckets, and other gear organized so that they can be used
when necessary.
・Since people can conduct operations safely when the work areas are kept hygienic,
organization contributes to workplace functionality. Accordingly, make an effort
to always maintain cleanliness and hygiene both inside the ship and in the work
areas on deck.

3. On-Board Behavior
・Confirm the safety signs, displays, and other accident prevention information on
board regularly and follow the instructions strictly.
・With the exception of when it is necessary for carrying out work or operations,refrain from recklessly going out onto the deck after sunset by yourself, as there
is an increased risk of falling overboard. If you do go out onto the deck at night,always inform another crew member beforehand.
・ Refrain from climbing onto or sitting upon the bulwark to prevent falling
overboard.

4. Safety Signs
There are a variety of different safety signs used for accident prevention.
Common types include prohibition signs, instruction signs, warning signs, generalsigns, and guidance signs. In addition, there are also signs directly displayed on
equipment such as pipes (Figs. 3, 4).

3

Prohibition signs: DO NOT ENTER, FLAMMABLE, NO SMOKING, NO
TOUCHING, etc.
Instruction signs: WEAR HELMET, WEAR EAR PROTECTION, CHECKSAFETY, etc.
Warning signs: HARMFUL SUBSTANCES, OVERHEAD HAZARD, WATCH
YOUR STEP, etc.
Direct displays: The color displayed on piping indicates the substance carried, suchas fresh water, oil, or seawater. In addition, there are black and yellow paintedropes painted called “tiger ropes” which are placed in dangerous locations.

4

DO NOT ENTER

FLAMMABLE

WEAR EAR PROTECTION

WEAR HELMETWATCH YOUR STEPOVERHEAD HAZARD

Figure 3: Examples of prohibition signs, instruction signs, and warning signs

Water pipe

Seawater pipeOil pipe

Tiger rope
Figure 4: Examples of direct displays55. Accident Prevention Measures
To ensure safety and prevent accidents in fishing labor and work operations, crew
members must always be vigilant, anticipating accidents and carrying out safety
checks for each individual, and even veteran workers must never engage indangerous work by themselves. Some of the most common accidents include
injuries and falling accidents during fishing operations caused by fishingequipment or ship equipment, as well as falling accidents while operating derricks
or cranes and entanglement accidents involving fishing equipment, which caneasily be very serious, particularly when winches are involved. For this reason, itis crucial to exercise sufficient caution when handling equipment during work
operations. In addition, beginners are often injured by caught fish. Make efforts tocarry out the following safety confirmation procedures when engaging in work.

・When carrying out operations, pay sufficient attention to the conditions of yoursurroundings and communicate with other crew members while completing yourwork.
・Do not put your feet or other parts of your body inside sections of coiled rope.
・Transporting loads too heavy for a single person to hold onto when the ship sways
must be handled by multiple crew members.
・When carrying heavy objects, wear slip-resistant shoes such as boots.
・ When working near ship apertures for pulling in caught fish and fishingequipment, be aware of the risk of falling overboard. Do not carry out work
operations with your back to these apertures.
・Do not carelessly approach ropes or warps (wires) which are in operation. Avoid
areas where ropes could reach if broken when carrying out work operations.

6

・Do not enter spaces directly below fishing nets that have been pulled in orequipment such as derricks or cranes which are in operation.
・Entrust the operation of fishing equipment to veteran crew members. Whenentrusted with such operations, always maintain a state in which stopping ispossible at any time.
・When handling caught fish, exercise sufficient caution in the handling of harmful
marine products. Ask a nearby crew member before handling unfamiliar fish.
・When processing caught fish, handle blades carefully to avoid injuring yourself
or others.
・The deck will become slippery with fish blood, oil, slime, and other substances
after processing caught fish, so it should be cleaned off immediately afterward.
・Be careful to make sure fish that have spilled onto the deck do not get stuck inscuppers.

6. Crisis Response for Falling Overboard
Accidents involving falling overboard can occur at any time, not just when a shipin operation, and they are the most likely fishing vessel accident to occur, so caution
is necessary. The human body generally floats in water, and wearing clothing andraincoats further increases buoyancy. For this reason, your chance of being saved
is higher if you maintain an upward facing posture to ensure you can breathe andcontinue floating and waiting for rescue, rather than attempting to swim and saveyourself with your own strength. Moreover, if you witness someone falling
overboard, it is vital to immediately notify those around you in a loud voice andcast a nearby life preserver or similar object out into the water.

7

・If you fall into the water, do not struggle and attempt to save yourself with yourown strength. Instead, maintain flotation and wait for help to arrive.
・Calmly move your feet in the water. Do not perform movements such as the flutter
kick or the crawl stroke which entail moving your hands and feet in and out of
the water, and instead keep your body under the surface.
・Since crew members wear a raincoat and boots during work operations, if you fall
into the water, remove your boots, pour out water from inside, and hold them
upside down in the water to act as flotation assistance devices (Fig. 5).

Figure 5: Use your boots as flotation assistance and await rescue

・If an object such as a plastic bag or a plastic bottle is nearby, use it as a flotation
device (lifesaving equipment). (Seal air inside the plastic bag or bottle, hold it toyour chest, and float facing upward.)
・If you are thrown a lifesaving rope, wrap the rope around your body (waist), tie
a ring around yourself using a bowline knot so that the ring does not close, andhave other crew members pull you up.
・If you are thrown a life preserver, put the life preserver over your head, secure it
around your waist, grab the tow rope, and have other crew members pull you up.

8