‘Come home safe, take up offer of fishing boat funds’
The sister of a fisherman who died after becoming tangled in his boat’s winch has made an emotional plea for others to improve the safety of their vessels.
Gareth Jones, 36, of Ty’n y Mur, Morfa Nefyn, Pen Llyn, Gwynedd, was killed when he became caught in the winch’s warping drum while scallop fishing alone on his 36ft boat, Ronan Orla, off the Llyn Peninsula.
His sister, Iona Hughes, from Y Ffôr, near Pwllheli, has now delivered her heartfelt message as part of a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) campaign to improve safety on fishing boats.
The RNLI want fishermen to take advantage of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to help replace older, more dangerous deck machinery.
Mrs Hughes said: “Fishing can be a dangerous job, so fishermen need to do everything they can to stay as safe as possible. My message is simple – at the end of a day’s fishing, you need to come home safe to your families. Take advantage of this European funding to improve the safety of your boats.”
She added: “Even when we were kids, Gareth used to love going out fishing with our dad. He was well liked by everybody. He was really friendly and was always willing to help anybody out.
“I don’t know how to express how awful it was, for us as a family and the whole community, when we heard that Gareth had died. I just couldn’t believe what had happened. I was in complete and utter shock.”
At an inquest held in August 2015 into Mr Jones’ death on Sunday, March 30, 2014, North West Wales senior coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones recorded a conclusion of accidental death.
He said the lessons to be learned were that fishing should not be a one-man operation and that Mr Jones’ boat was in need of a complete refit.
Last year the RNLI launched 450 times around the UK to assist with commercial fishing-related incidents, with 743 people being rescued and 27 lives saved.
In Wales, there were 43 commercial fishing-related lifeboat launches, with 60 people rescued.
Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts, who had known Gareth and his family for many years, said: “Having seen the suffering Gareth’s family went through, it’s so important that fishermen take action to be as safe as possible so their families don’t have to go through such pain.
“I understand the financial pressures many commercial fishermen are under. That’s why I’d encourage them to take advantage of the funding available to make safety improvements to their boats. The money is there to help you, so please use it.”
RNLI fishing safety manager Frankie Horne said: “Accidents involving deck machinery can have devastating consequences. These can result in life-changing injuries or, in the most tragic cases, death.”
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