NI Conservatives’ fishing spokesman, Paul Leeman, has praised the Belfast Coastguard and other rescue services, after a fisherman was rescued from a capsized boat, beside South Rock, just off the County Down coast.
“The coastguard and the other emergency services did a wonderful job”, explained Paul, who is a commercial fisherman himself. “I know the man who was rescued well; obviously our thoughts are with him and we hope that he makes a full recovery from what will have been quite an ordeal.”
“As I understand it, he was in the water for almost an hour, before being recovered. Belfast Coastguard alerted the Irish Coast Guard helicopter, lifeboat crews from Donaghadee and Portaferry, as well as Coastguard Rescue Teams from Portaferry and Bangor. The incident underlines what a tremendous, life-saving job these services do and how important they are for fishermen and anyone else who works at sea.”
“Commercial fishing is a dangerous job and we must always work to make sure that vessels have the best safety equipment. The man who was rescued today was wearing a floatation device which was issued as part of an initiative involving DARD, the Fisherman’s Mission and Seafish, through the European Fisheries Fund and Asda. This vital piece of equipment, as well as the efforts of the various services, may well have saved a life.”