Fishing Vessel Safety Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1486)

Standards and Approval

Marginal note:Mark or label indicating approval by Minister

• 3.19 (1) An immersion suit, anti-exposure suit, emergency boat, recovery boat or rescue boat that is referred to in these Regulations and that may be carried on board a fishing vessel shall bear a mark or label indicating that it is of a type approved by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Applicable standards and test

  (2) The Minister shall approve a type of equipment referred to in subsection (1) if it is shown to meet the applicable standards and tests referred to in Schedule X.

Marginal note:Mark or label — Small Vessel Regulations

• 3.2 (1) A personal flotation device, lifejacket, lifebuoy, self-igniting light, pyrotechnic distress signal or life raft referred to in these Regulations shall bear a mark or label indicating that it is of a type approved by the Minister under the Small Vessel Regulations.

• Marginal note:Alternative mark or label

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a personal flotation device if it has been approved by the Director of Ship Safety of the Department of Transport or by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and if it bears a mark or label indicating that it was approved by one of those departments or by the Canadian Coast Guard.

• Marginal note:Personal flotation device

  (3) An approved personal flotation device

  • (a) shall be fitted with retro-reflective tape and a whistle; and

  • (b) shall have an outer covering of a highly visible colour or, in the case of an inflatable personal flotation device, shall have an internal bladder of a highly visible colour.

Substitute Safety Equipment

Marginal note:Equivalent level of safety

• 3.21 (1) If the Minister determines that there are circumstances in which equipment other than the safety equipment required by these Regulations provides a level of safety at least equivalent to that provided by the required safety equipment, the other equipment may be substituted for the required safety equipment in those circumstances.

• Marginal note:Factors

  (2) To determine the level of safety provided by the substitute equipment in the circumstances, the Minister shall assess the following factors:

  • (a) the nature of the activity;

  • (b) the environmental conditions;

  • (c) the nature of the risks to which persons on board are exposed;

  • (d) the specific characteristics of the equipment;

  • (e) the recommended practices and standards to which the equipment conforms;

  • (f) the manner in which the equipment will be used; and

  • (g) the ability of the equipment to protect a person from injury.

• Marginal note:Mark or label

  (3) The substitute equipment shall bear a mark or label indicating that it conforms to the recommended practices and standards applicable to that type of equipment.

Accessibility and Maintenance

Marginal note:Requirements for safety equipment

• 3.22 (1) The safety equipment required by these Regulations shall

  • (a) be in good working order;

  • (b) be readily accessible and available for immediate use; and

  • (c) except for a life raft, be maintained and replaced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions or recommendations.

• Marginal note:Alterations

  (2) Safety equipment shall not be altered in any way that compromises its performance or that diminishes the integrity or readability of a marking set out in a standard related to it.

• Marginal note:Extinguishers

  (3) A portable fire extinguisher and a fixed fire extinguishing system required by these Regulations shall be kept fully charged.

Marks and Labels

Marginal note:English and French

3.23 A mark or label on the safety equipment required by this Division, and any related manufacturer’s instructions or recommendations, shall be in English and French.

First Aid Kit

Marginal note:Contents

3.24 A fishing vessel shall carry on board one of the following first aid kits, which shall be packed in a waterproof case that is capable of being tightly closed after use:

• (a) a marine emergency first aid kit that contains the following:

  • (i) an up-to-date first aid manual or up-to-date first aid instructions, in English and French,

  • (ii) 48 doses of analgesic medication of a non-narcotic type,

  • (iii) six safety pins or one roll of adhesive first aid tape,

  • (iv) one pair of bandage scissors or safety scissors,

  • (v) one resuscitation face shield,

  • (vi) two pairs of examination gloves,

  • (vii) 10 applications of antiseptic preparations,

  • (viii) 12 applications of burn preparations,

  • (ix) 20 adhesive plasters in assorted sizes,

  • (x) 10 sterile compression bandages in assorted sizes,

  • (xi) 4 m of elastic bandage,

  • (xii) two sterile gauze compresses,

  • (xiii) two triangular bandages, and

  • (xiv) a waterproof list of the contents, in English and French; or

• (b) a first aid kit that meets the requirements of the Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Regulations or of provincial regulations governing workers’ compensation, with the addition of a resuscitation face shield and two pairs of examination gloves if the kit is not required to contain them.

Life-saving Appliances

Personal Life-saving Appliances

Marginal note:Lifejacket

• 3.25 (1) A fishing vessel shall carry on board a lifejacket of an appropriate size for each person on board, but the lifejacket shall not be a Class 2 lifejacket or a small vessel lifejacket if the vessel is engaged on a voyage beyond the limits of a near coastal voyage, Class 2.

• Marginal note:Replacement of a lifejacket — near coastal voyage, Class 2

  (2) Instead of the lifejacket referred to in subsection (1), a fishing vessel that has a hull length of not more than 12 m and that is engaged on a near coastal voyage, Class 2, may carry on board a personal flotation device that meets the requirements of section 3.2 if

  • (a) the personal flotation device

    • (i) provides at least 100 N of buoyancy and has a turning capability, or

    • (ii) is designed to provide thermal protection; and

  • (b) in the case of a fishing vessel that has no deck or deck structure and that is underway, the personal flotation device is worn by everyone on board or, in the case of a fishing vessel that has a deck or deck structure and that is underway, it is worn by the persons on deck or in the cockpit.

• Marginal note:Replacement of a lifejacket — near coastal voyage, Class 2, etc.

  (3) Instead of the lifejacket referred to in subsection (1), a fishing vessel that has a hull length of not more than 12 m and that is engaged on a near coastal voyage, Class 2, restricted to 2 nautical miles, or a sheltered waters voyage, may carry on board a personal flotation device that meets the requirements of section 3.2 if

  • (a) in the case of a fishing vessel that has no deck or deck structure and that is underway, the personal flotation device is worn by everyone on board; or

  • (b) in the case of a fishing vessel that has a deck or deck structure and that is underway, it is worn by the persons on deck or in the cockpit.

Marginal note:Additional personal life-saving appliances

• 3.26 (1) A fishing vessel shall carry on board the following additional personal life-saving appliances:

  • (a) a reboarding device;

  • (b) an apparatus that can be used to retrieve a person who has fallen overboard without the assistance of the person overboard, unless the vessel carries a recovery boat or the operator of the vessel is the only person on board; and

  • (c) in the case of a fishing vessel that has a hull length set out in column 1 of the table to this paragraph, the additional personal life-saving appliances set out in column 2.

    	Column 1	Column 2
    Item	Hull Length	Additional Personal Life-saving Appliances
    1	Not more than 6 m	a buoyant heaving line of not less than 15 m in length
    2	More than 6 m but not more than 9 m	(a) a buoyant heaving line of not less than 15 m in length; or (b) a lifebuoy attached to a buoyant line of not less than 15 m in length
    3	More than 9 m but not more than 12 m	(a) a buoyant heaving line of not less than 15 m in length; and (b) a lifebuoy attached to a buoyant line of not less than 15 m in length
    4	More than 12 m but not more than 15 m	(a) a buoyant heaving line of not less than 30 m in length; and (b) a SOLAS lifebuoy that is equipped with a self-igniting light or that is attached to a buoyant line of not less than 30 m in length
    5	More than 15 m	(a) a buoyant heaving line of not less than 30 m in length; (b) a SOLAS lifebuoy attached to a buoyant line of not less than 30 m in length; and (c) a SOLAS lifebuoy that is equipped with a self-igniting light

• Marginal note:Buoyant heaving line

  (2) A buoyant heaving line set out in the table to paragraph (1)(c) shall be fitted at one end with a buoyant mass that will assist in carrying out the end of the line when the line is thrown.

Visual Signals

Marginal note:Requirement to carry on board

• 3.27 (1) A fishing vessel that has a hull length set out in column 1 of the table to this subsection shall carry on board the visual signals set out in column 2.

  	Column 1	Column 2
  Item	Hull length	Visual Signals
  1	Not more than 6 m	(a) a watertight flashlight; and (b) three pyrotechnic distress signals other than smoke signals
  2	More than 6 m but not more than 9 m	(a) a watertight flashlight; and (b) the following visual signals: (i) for a voyage that is not beyond the limits of a near coastal voyage, Class 2, six pyrotechnic distress signals other than smoke signals, or (ii) for a voyage that is beyond the limits of a near coastal voyage, class 2, six pyrotechnic distress signals — other than smoke signals — of which at least two are rocket parachute flares
  3	More than 9 m but not more than 12 m	(a) a watertight flashlight; (b) the following visual signals: (i) for a voyage that is not beyond the limits of a near coastal voyage, Class 2, six pyrotechnic distress signals of which not more than three are smoke signals, or (ii) for a voyage that is beyond the limits of a near coastal voyage, class 2, six pyrotechnic distress signals of which at least two are rocket parachute flares and not more than three are smoke signals, which shall be buoyant smoke signals; and (c) a signalling mirror
  4	More than 12 m but not more than 15 m	(a) a watertight flashlight; (b) the following visual signals: (i) for a voyage that is not beyond the limits of a near coastal voyage, Class 2, twelve pyrotechnic distress signals of which not more than six are smoke signals, or (ii) for a voyage that is beyond the limits of a near coastal voyage, class 2, twelve pyrotechnic distress signals of which at least four are rocket parachute flares and not more than six are smoke signals, which shall be buoyant smoke signals; and (c) a signalling mirror
  5	More than 15 m	(a) a watertight flashlight; (b) the following visual signals: (i) for a voyage that is not beyond the limits of a near coastal voyage, Class 2, twelve pyrotechnic distress signals of which not more than six are smoke signals, or (ii) for a voyage that is beyond the limits of a near coastal voyage, class 2, twelve pyrotechnic distress signals of which at least six are rocket parachute flares and not more than six are smoke signals, which shall be buoyant smoke signals; and (c) a signalling mirror

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) A fishing vessel is not required to carry on board pyrotechnic distress signals if the vessel is equipped with a two-way radio communication system that makes it possible to maintain communication and the vessel is operated

  • (a) on a river, canal or lake where it cannot at any time be more than one nautical mile from the closest shore;

  • (b) exclusively within the confines of a manned aquaculture facility; or

  • (c) within 500 m from shore.

• Marginal note:Expiry

  (3) A pyrotechnic distress signal expires four years after its date of manufacture.