The New South Wales Coroner is urging the government to pass legislation making it compulsory for rock fisher-people to wear a safety vest. This is this state's most dangerous hobby and since 2012 a total of thirty-five people have met their deaths in the sea when what are regularly called "freak waves " wash them off rocks and into the water.
Inquest after inquest has highlighted the danger and begged recreational fishers to reduce the risk by investing in a relatively cheap flotation jacket - to no avail. The coastal foreshore is dotted with people fishing from rocks, and seeing someone wearing a safety vest is a rarity !
Rescue costs are also an issue and it is estimated that every time a helicopter is called to pluck someone from the sea the state has outlaid somewhere between $450,000 and $ 600,000 of public money. Such rescues in heavy seas also impose a danger to rescue crews. Popular fishing spots with a high hazard rating have been equipped with "Angel Rings " - a float that can be thrown to those in the water - but most quickly disappear, stolen by vandals.
The Coroner recommends that legislation demanding the wearing of flotation jackets be subjected to a "grace period " of twelve months in which those not complying be warned rather than fined, and that the legal need to wear a jacket be the subject of an educational campaign. There is an expectation that demanding those fishing wear safety gear will not be popular and there will be a high degree of non-compliance.
Safety is - and always has been - a thorny issue. When we required riders of motorbikes and push bikes to wear safety helmets the legislation was met with a wave of rejection, but today even the rebellious bikie gangs wear their safety helmets without protest. The biggest offender class are children, and the blame can be sheeted home to parents who either fail to buy this protective gear or demand it be used.
Cynics will claim that next we will demand that drinkers wear a safety helmet any time that they visit the pub. It is a fact that we have seen a spate of deaths from alcohol fuelled punches sending those receiving the blow crashing to the pavement and sustaining fatal head injuries. A range of options - most of which were very unpopular - has seen a reduction in head damage and we now have lockout times in place and other restrictions that have reduced violence.
Unfortunately, compliance with the law is directly governed by a "fear factor ". We are more likely to comply with a law if there is a very good chance that non-compliance will result in some sort of unpleasant result - like being arrested or issued with a fine ! We mostly stay within the speed limit in our cars because we know that being detected over the limit will cost us serious money and the loss of demerit points from our driving license. Most claim that the set limits are unreasonably low or that their excess speed was within safety limits.
Rock fishers will only wear an approved safety vest if there is a very good chance that some form of officialdom will make regular inspections of coastal fishing spots and hand out draconian penalties for non-compliance. To be effective, it needs the sort of " tough love " that made motorbike riders conform - against their wishes - to wearing safety helmets. Today, seeing a person riding a motorbike on our roads without a safety helmet is most unusual.
A government that introduces such a safety law can expect a backlash. Some will use the epithet "Nanny state " but saving lives usually requires some sort of habit change - and generally we humans are set in our ways and dislike change.
Flotation vests for rock fishing is long overdue.
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