Since 1992 the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has made 42 recommendations concerning fishing safety, and many of these recommendations have been acted on. However, despite the efforts of the Board and others in government and the private sector, many of the causes of fishing accidents today are the same as those identified by the TSB two decades ago. Most significantly, between 1999 and 2008, an average of 14 people died in fishing accidents each year. Consequently, in August 2009, the TSB began a broad safety issues investigation into accidents involving commercial fishing vessels in Canada. This report sets out the process followed in the investigation, identifies why certain causes of accidents persist year after year, and provides a way forward that would make the industry safer.
