1 FISHERIES TRAINING COURSE * HAND OUTS IMPROVE FISHERY OPERATION Gadhdhoo, Maldives NOV. 29TH –DEC. 5TH 2009 2 CONTENTS COURSE TOPIC PAGE 1 SAFETY AT SEA 3 2 VHF MARINE RADIO COMMUNICATION 12 3 ECHO SOUNDERS / FISH FINDERS 19 4 GPS 22 5 TUNA BEHAVIOUR 26 6 SEABIRDS 32 7 SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE SST 37 8 STRATEGIES FOR FISHING HIGH MOVING SURFACE SCHOOLS 41 9 SEAMANSHIP 45 3 SAFETY AT SEA 1. Main causes of distress at sea: . Engine failure . Disorientation . Insufficient fuel . Accidents . Lack of seamanship skills . Natural conditions like heavy weather etc. Recommended safety items for every vessel whose length is 25 feet or more with cabin accommodation and capable of night fishing. (a) A fix-mount compass. (b) A fix-mount VHF marine transceiver. (c) One life jacket for each person affixed in an accessible area in the cabin. (d) At least two fire extinguisher affixed in an accessible area in the cabin. (e) A portable flashlight with spare bulb. (f) At least 6 distress flares suitable for use at night and daylight. (g) At least 2 working bilge pumps and one spare. (h) Full navigation light – Port, Starboard, Stern, Bow, and Anchor. (i) One all-round (360 Degrees) red fishing light mounted at least 36 inches above the anchor light. (j) A life raft or dinghy capable of carrying all persons on board. 4 (k) Engine spares to include the following: impellers, fan belt, fuel and oil filters, and fuses. (l) Repair tools to include pipe wrench, spanners, screwdrivers, vice grip etc. (m) A mooring anchor and anchor rope appropriate to the vessel. (n) A fixed mount global positioning system (GPS) receiver. (o) One radar reflector mounted over the top cabin. (p) A First Aid kit. (q) At least two batteries- one for starting and one for auxiliary equipment and lights with changeover switch. OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT (r) A class II Emergency Position Indicating Radio Bacon (EPIRB) (s) A Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) Transponder. (t) A Single Side Band (SSB) HF Marine Transceiver. 5 Distress Flares and Pyrotechnics are a vital part of the safety equipment of every fishing vessel Flares comes in three types – 1. Arial or Parachute flares, which ignite after a rocket has carried them skyward; 2. Handheld flares, which create an intense bright red flame; 3. Smoke flares, which have a plume of orange smoke that is highly visible from a searching aircraft. Any flare is only useful if it can be seen by someone who can give help or alert others. Because each flare burns only for a short time, you should try to maximise the chances of your flare being seen. There are some simple things you can do to ensure your distress signal is as effective as possible. There are three main types of flares, with different options available for each type: Orange smoke – effective as a line of sight distress signal for daytime use only. Red handheld – effective as line of sight distress signal by day and night, and very bright, with a good visibility range. These are very visible from an aircraft, and burn for up to 60 seconds. Red parachute or rocket – capable of attracting attention in daylight for up to 10 miles, with a night-time range of up to 40 miles. The rocket launches the flare up to 300m and the flare burns for 40–60 seconds as it slowly descends under the parachute. 6 ENSURE YOU'RE FLARE READY . Read and understand the firing instruction(s) for your flares before you need to use them, as you will not be able to read the instructions in a distress situation at night, when emergencies often occur. Store your flares in a waterproof container, or in a dry designated area below deck – and make sure passengers and crew know where they are and how to use them. Check the expiry date of your flares regularly, and replace flares before they expire. Dispose of your date-expired flares appropriately (see disposal of old flares). You should only fire flares when a boat or aircraft is seen, and you should wait until they are at the closest point to your location before firing them. Do not use all your flares at the sighting of an aircraft or boat, they may not see your flares, and you will have to use flares again at sighting of another aircraft or boat. Always hold the flare to leeward outside your boat when firing. Flares burn with extreme heat, and can easily damage your boat if used incorrectly. Fire parachute flares downwind – never into the wind – preferably at a 15–20 degree angle off vertical. LASER RESCUE FLARES - NON-PYROTECHNIC These up-to-the-minute devices offer a simple and effective way of pinpointing your position to a rescue ship or airplane searching for you. The laser "torch" emits a fan-shaped beam which is pointed at the target and moved slowly back and forth across it. The rescue crew will see a flashing red light which they will be able to home in on. Rescue Laser flares and lights have a number of advantages over pyrotechnic flares for guiding rescuers to the casualty: 1. Longer in-use life. A typical white pyrotechnic flare, a one-off device, lasts for less than a minute whereas the Rescue Laser Flares and Lights last for hours. Whilst this depends on the weather and the 7 amount of ambient light, in clear conditions and no ambient light the laser devices can be seen out to 20 miles (30 miles in the case of the Rescue Laser Flare Green) by night. By day they are visible out to 3 miles. 2. Location. Rescue Laser flares and lights can be used to illuminate reflective materials such as those on oilskins and life buoys out to a range of 1 mile. 3. Ease of use. Having a simple twist method of switching on and off, laser flares and lights are easy to use. 4. Safety Rescue Laser flares and lights are battery powered and are not a fire hazard. They are much safer to use than a pyrotechnic flare and they can be carried by air. 5. No Hazardous materials to be disposed of after they expire. Sound Signals Bells, whistles, and horns are some devices used to create distress sound signals. Other Visual Signals Flags are still used to inform others that you are in trouble. There are code flags which are widely-recognized as signals that indicate distress. A distress flag is orange in color with black square and black ball. LIFE JACKETS All fishing vessels MUST have onboard, one life jacket for each person. Life jackets must be stored in an easy accessible area. No matter how you slice it, almost any boating accident imaginable has a predictable outcome – you in the water fighting for your life. Unless you are wearing a life jacket, your survival chances are marginal. The best case scenario would be falling overboard without sustaining an injury, and being quickly recovered by a person remaining in the boat, or by 8 a nearby boater. In almost every other scenario, surviving a boating accident that resulted in being ejected from the boat without a life jacket would depend upon a quick rescue. Nine of ten drowning victims may have survived a capsizing or fall overboard if they had been wearing a life jacket. By wearing a life jacket you increase the chances of surviving. Think of it another way: without a lifejacket, how long can you tread water while waiting for rescue? What if you were injured? The major reason why most fishermen forego wearing life jackets while fishing is a comfort issue, hence the reason why artisanal fishermen just keep their life jackets stored away onboard. APPROPRIATE LIFE JACKET / PDF FOR OFFSHORE FISHING VESSELS Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Fire is very dangerous for vessels at sea. Fishing vessels use and carry lots of things that can cause fires. Once a fire starts on board a fishing vessel at sea it can be very hard to put out. You need to do everything you can to keep your vessel afloat and seaworthy. Every vessel should have regular fire drills. Practicing what you have to do is the best way to remember it. 9 Important points for all crew . Know and look out for fire risks. Know what fire equipment is held on board. Know how and when to use all the fighting equipment. Know how to contain a fire on board. Flammable hazard: A flammable hazard is something that could ignite a fire, or something that burns easy Flammable hazards - Every vessel at sea has a large number of Flammable Hazards on board. These include: Things that can ignite or start the fire . heat and sparks from electrical switches, motors, tools and leads . cooker flames . cigarettes and matches or lighters Things that can give the fire fuel to burn . diesel fuel . gas . cleaning chemicals . rags with oil or chemicals on them . hydraulic oil General Fire Prevention There are two main things you can do on board a vessel to prevent fires Keep the vessel tidy - good housekeeping is important Everyone on board must think ahead and try to identify fire risks during normal day to day operation of the vessel. 10 Here are some specific flammable hazards to look out for. On every vessel there will be other fire risks that are not on this list. Think carefully about your vessel and any other things you can do to prevent fires. Ensure no one smokes on board the vessel when taking on fuel.