Shelburne company pleads guilty in fisherman’s death

Guilty pleas entered to three Occupational Health and Safety Act charges

A Shelburne fishing company has pleaded guilty to three Occupational Health and Safety Act charges in the death of a lobster fisherman last year.

Jim Buchanan died Jan. 7, 2017, after he fell overboard while setting lobster traps from the back of the vessel Secret Sea, about 50 kilometres southeast of Cape Sable Island.

Buchanan, 44, was not wearing a personal flotation device at the time of the incident. The crew found him floating face down in the water and pulled him aboard.

Aubrey Harding, captain of the boat, performed CPR on Buchanan for 15 or 20 minutes without success.

Lawyer Phil Star entered the guilty pleas Wednesday, Nov. 7, in Shelburne provincial court on behalf of Little Rye Fisheries.

The company admitted that it failed to ensure Buchanan used a life jacket or personal flotation device, that personal flotation devices on the boat did not meet safety standards, and that it did not have a written occupational health and safety policy, including safe work procedures or hazard assessments regarding the setting or hauling of traps.

Judge Jamie Burrill scheduled sentencing for Jan. 10.

Crown attorney Alex Keaveny said it’s “hard to say” if there will be a joint sentencing recommendation.

“The guilty pleas were not entered on the basis of a joint recommendation,” Keaveny said.

Buchanan had a nickname of Big Jim or the gentle giant, attributable to his open and outgoing demeanor and his sixfoot-four height.

“Jim was a wonderful man with a heart of gold,” said Michael Buchanan, Jim’s brother, following his death. “He loved his family and would do anything for his wife and children.”

He was also a proud grandfather.

“Jim would do anything for anybody,” his brother had said. “If you asked a favour he would drop what he was doing and help.”