General Election 2024 – A five-point plan for fishing (Part IV: Safety & Wellbeing)

In the lead-up to polling day, Fathom has produced a flash series detailing the key priorities for the UK fishing industry. With few references to fishing in the main parties’ plans, Chris Ranford, Fathom’s co-host and Chief Executive of the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation sits down alongside Mike Cohen, the CEO of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations to lay out the action they would like to see from the incoming government.

Most seafarers are aware of the risks to their safety involved in their professions. How these risks are managed is an important area for the next UK government to consider. Top down approaches have left fishermen with the impression that measures being introduced to safeguard them are instead proving to be obstacles preventing them from doing what they do best: catching fish. 

After the attempted, controversial introduction of a new medical certificate requirement by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) recently, more than ever, fishermen are looking for government departments to work together and listen to the industry. In this episode, Chris and Mike discuss the need for a fundamental reform of how health, safety and welfare regulations are developed and managed in the fishing industry. 

Find the CFPO’s election manifesto here: https://cfpo.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CFPO-manifesto-2.pdf

The fourth series of the Fathom podcast has been produced by the Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation (CFPO) with funding from The Seafarers' Charity.