Live To Tell The Tale

BIM launched our ‘Live To Tell The Tale’ campaign on the 18 January

Fifty-three fishermen have lost their lives at sea over the last ten years. In 2015, there were four fatal accidents in the sector. Against such stark statistics, BIM recently launched a national advertising and Public Relations campaign entitled ‘Live to Tell The Tale’ to drive more fishermen to complete mandatory BIM safety survival training and wear their personal flotation device (PFD) lifejacket at all times when at sea.

According to BIM commissioned research undertaken by Behaviour and Attitudes, more than 52% of fishermen personally know a colleague who has been lost at sea. However, despite this, over half of these fishermen still do not wear a Personal Flotation Device when at sea.

The ‘Live to Tell the Tale’ campaign is looking to reverse this trend by promoting a behaviour change to motivate and encourage fishermen to take part in survival training and wear their Personal Flotation

Hear more about the campaign and accounts from fishermen and families who have faced the harsh reality of an accident at sea

The campaign features hard-hitting radio, press and outdoor advertisements that are designed to be thought provoking and make fishermen think of the consequences of not wearing a PFD lifejacket.

BIM are running a schedule of ‘Live to Tell the Tale’ Basic Safety Training Courses around the coast to coincide with the campaign and throughout the year. The courses are available through BIM’s National Fisheries Colleges in Greencastle, Co. Donegal , Castletownbere, Co. Cork and on board BIM’s mobile Coastal Training Units that travel to every port in the country. View the full schedule of courses

Sea You Home Safe

A campaign encouraging fishermen to wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD) at sea on open decks.

Fishing is the most dangerous peacetime profession with 25% of fishermen in the UK claiming they have had an incident at sea which put their life at risk.

Losing a loved one at sea is a devastating experience for everyone affected, but did you know that it can take up to seven years for a person lost at sea to be declared dead? This can cause years of financial and administrative headaches for the family.

One of the most effective ways of improving the chances of surviving falling overboard (or recovering the body if the worst should happen) is to wear a Personal Flotation Device, known as a PFD. Which is why we have created the ‘Sea You Home Safe’ campaign, to encourage fishermen to wear a PFD when they are working on an open deck.

Stories from Sea

Read about the lives lost and saved at sea and why wearing a PFD can make a difference

Stories of love and loss and the brave fishermen who risk their lives at sea to put fish on our plates. We want to hear from fishermen and their families and why wearing a PFD is so important, please contact Beth Nicol at Citypress beth.nicol@citypress.co.uk or join us on Facebook.

Dougie’s Story

Dougie Brown, 52, from the Isle of Coll, experienced a brush with death after being tossed into the water from his fishing boat on 14th February 2014. Had it not been for his personal flotation device (PFD), and as a weak swimmer, the fisherman would have most certainly lost his life. Watch Dougie tell his story “A Mater of Life and Death: Dougies Story” and hear why he is urging all fishermen to wear a PFD.

Megan’s Story

Megan Willdig from Kirkcudbrightshire lost her partner Steven Robertson, two weeks before she found out she was pregnant. Steven’s body was never recovered, which meant Megan could not put Steven down on her daughter Ava’s birth certificate when she was born. Read Megan’s story

Sam’s Story

Fisherman Sam Cully’s life was saved after his boat sank in minutes off the coast of County Down. Sam was in the water for 45 minutes but was recovered by the RNLI thanks to the PFD he was wearing, which he had been given for free just weeks before. Read Sam’s story or watch “A Fisherman’s Story: Wearing a PFD Saved My Life!”.

The True Price of Fish

The True Price Of Fish is a fantastic 20 minute documentary by film maker Grace Pascoe looking at the issue of fishermen not wearing lifejackets at sea. Set in the South West of England, Grace speaks to a range of people affected by fishermen choosing to wear or not wear a PFD including the fishermen, the families and the organisations aiming to make the industry safer.